


Going Bush 4: Wilderness

by torturingtaylor (itzaimster)



Series: Going Bush [4]
Category: Hanson
Genre: Abduction, Assault, Bondage, Gen, Hostage Situation, Human Trafficking, Slave Trade, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-30
Updated: 2013-05-05
Packaged: 2017-12-06 22:29:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 145
Words: 82,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/740869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itzaimster/pseuds/torturingtaylor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six months have passed and the military are still after the remaining two Creeds. </p><p>The Creeds are still after Taylor and Zac. But they're not the only ones this time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Joining us live in the studio in their first official media appearance since… I guess you all know what, are Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson, of Hanson. How are you boys?”  
“We’re good,” Taylor nodded, “thanks.”  
“Spending a few months playing slumber party in the Pentagon means we’re glad to even see daylight,” Zac smirked.  
“The Pentagon?”  
“We had to stay there for a while after… after everything,” Taylor explained, “they very nearly didn’t let us out either, but we pointed out that we have lives to get on with, so…”  
“Right. So for those who don’t know, would you like to explain exactly why you’re here? What happened to you, in a sense?”  
“For anyone that wasn’t watching the news the day that Isaac and I escaped,” Taylor mused, “we’d been held captive by slave traders operating in middle and southern America. By that time Zac and I had been held for about a week, and Isaac for a few days.”  
“But it was my first time,” Isaac cut in, “it was not their first time.”  
“Right. This also happened last year, is that correct? Which was not made public knowledge.”  
“For the two of us, yeah,” Zac indicated himself and Taylor, “which was also the result of Taylor having been abducted and held hostage about ten years ago.”  
“Where’s the link?” Blitzer asked curiously, “I mean everyone saw the hostage siege at the Oklahoma and Missouri state border on live TV, how does that situation land you in slavery?”  
“The people involved,” Taylor covered, “Nathan Devereux, who is still at large, obviously had friends in the industry. He took it personally that his friend – Bernard – had been killed that night out on the highway and he blamed me for it personally. So when Zac and I ran into him under an innocent circumstance almost two years ago he took advantage of the opportunity to get rid of us by having us inducted into what they call the ‘program’.”  
“And before we go too far… why now? A year ago you decided to keep your stories private. What changed for you to come out into the open with it this time?”  
“A few things,” Isaac considered, “one, is that these people are still very much out there in the community and we feel we need to build awareness around the issues of slavery and just… abduction, which is happening a lot more often than you might think.”  
“And you barely even know it’s happening,” Taylor added, “because these people target those who they think won’t be noticed if they’re gone. Everyone knows that it’s dangerous out there for the homeless, for runaways, hitchhikers and backpackers, but these people are also getting smarter and I know for a fact that they can now seek out people of a certain age even just in bars and clubs.”  
“What makes you so sure that they’re so out in the open? And who are these people we should be watching out for?”  
“I know because they wanted me to become one of them,” Taylor was staring him in the eye, deadly serious, “I was intended to go through one of their training programs tailored specifically to making ‘recruiters’, as they called them.”  
“As for who they are,” Zac interrupted, sensing the tension already, “we’ve been given strict guidelines by the military as to what we can and cannot say about them, but we can identify the ones who are still at large. Aside from Nathan Devereux, the name we have is Seth Creed.”  
“Who also has a brother named Ryan,” Isaac added, “and yes, we are very much taking our lives in our hands by identifying them on national television.”


	2. 02

“You think you’ll be targeted for coming out to the media?” Blitzer looked concerned.  
“We know we’ll be targeted anyway,” Taylor shrugged, “so as far as we’re concerned, this is something we can do to help other people avoid the same fate. We want to get it out there that yes, these people are out there abducting young adults and forcing them into servitude, but even if it happens to you there is no reason to give up hope. If we can get out, so can they.”  
“Right. And we weren’t targeted because we were famous or anything,” Isaac looked to Taylor.  
“No this was very much just a case of wrong place, wrong time,” Taylor agreed, “and in fact that we _were_ in the public eye caused a lot of unrest in the higher-ups of the company.”  
“Afraid of exposure?”  
“Exactly,” and Taylor couldn’t help but smile a little, “which is exactly what we’re doing right now. And I’m sure they’ll all be watching this interview very closely and taking steps to cover up anything we do expose.”  
“Do you have anything to say to them if they are watching?”  
“No,” Taylor said straight away.  
“I would go so far as to say something along the lines of ‘burn in Hell’, but that would depend on the timeslot,” Zac chuckled to himself.  
“Okay. If you’re ready, I’d like to delve into some of the things that happened during your time in captivity,” Blitzer’s voice lowered, as all three Hanson faces fell.  
“When you – Isaac and Taylor – appeared on our TV screens seemingly out of nowhere and announced that you’d just escaped, I’m sure I’m not the only one who noticed a few things about that footage. For one, there were black marks all over your necks. Is that something you may have experienced? Being strangled or choked?”  
Taylor’s hand immediately went to his throat.  
“They used collars on us, as a restraining method,” Zac explained, “among a lot of other things.”  
“But yes,” Taylor confirmed, “choking was something that happened a lot. For me, at least.”  
“Were you ever at the point where you felt that ‘this could be it’? Were you afraid you were going to die?”  
“I think we had that fear all along,” Zac answered for him, knowing where Taylor was about to go.  
“I almost died multiple times,” Taylor again confirmed, “and if you need an example… Zac was made to watch while I was suffocated to the point of passing out.”  
“And beyond,” Zac said softly, looking to his brother, “he didn’t let go straight away.”  
Taylor just frowned at that.  
“What happened?” Blitzer asked empathically.  
“I managed to call 9-1-1 and got caught, which was a big no-no,” Zac explained, “and as a result, because supposedly they needed me more than Tay, he was going to make me watch him kill him.”  
“He put his hand over my mouth and pinched my nostrils shut,” Taylor demonstrated away from his face as Zac put his head in his hand, “and I couldn’t defend myself because I was wearing a straightjacket. When I eventually woke up he had to put me on oxygen.”  
“You didn’t tell me that,” Zac looked across at him again.  
“I didn’t see you again,” Taylor shrugged.  
“I think there’s a lot of things we haven’t told each other yet,” Isaac amended, looking between the three of them, “though there have been therapy sessions and such, mainly at the Pentagon.”  
“Are you ready to delve into some of those secrets?” Blitzer leant forward encouragingly.


	3. 03

“I think you’re confusing an irrational fear with paranoia,” Taylor corrected as he walked through the front door and threw his keys onto the counter.  
“It’s irrational fear,” Isaac cemented, “because it isn’t rational.”  
“It’s completely rational to fear something that Nate used on me,” Taylor scorned, watching to make sure Zac locked the door behind him.  
“It’s irrational when you freak out because you see it sitting in the garage.”  
“That happened _one_ time, Ike.”  
Isaac smirked, deciding to leave it.  
“Well that wasn’t quite the train wreck I expected,” Zac decided to change the subject, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jacket and following them toward the kitchen, “are we expecting any repercussions from this do you think?”  
“I don’t see how,” Taylor took the bait, “not that this place is the Pentagon or anything, but we’re still under watch twenty four-seven.”  
“I’d really like to see them try and screw with the military, I’m just saying,” Isaac mused, “mainly because I just want them to hurry up and get caught.”  
“Who doesn’t?” Taylor agreed, fetching some glasses and a bottle from the cupboard.  
He paused in his tracks as the phone rang.  
“Nat?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“I hope she wasn’t watching that,” Taylor sighed, setting everything on the counter in front of his brothers before going to answer it.  
“Why?” Zac frowned.  
“Because that would mean the kids were,” Taylor gave him a glance as he picked up the receiver.  
“Hello?”  
“Hello Taylor.”  
Taylor frowned for a moment as he tried to register the voice. It took two seconds to hit, and his face lost colour.  
“Seth?” he looked across to his brothers.  
Zac shot to his feet.  
“I liked your interview. It was very… informative.”  
“It hasn’t even gone to air yet,” Taylor frowned as Zac approached him.  
Taylor indicated the other line. Zac nodded and rushed to fetch it. When Seth just laughed, Taylor kept his eye on Isaac who seemed to be at a loss.  
“Nonetheless, I didn’t appreciate the name drop.”  
“Yeah? Well I didn’t appreciate you trying to make me into a slave,” Taylor’s eyebrows rose.  
“Don’t lie to yourself Taylor, you already are one.”  
Taylor grit his teeth and hit the receiver against his forehead. Isaac – after a moment of thought – quickly dug out his cell phone and dialled.  
“What do you want?” Taylor asked, knowing Zac must have been on the line by now.  
“Just for you to know that I’m watching,” Seth replied conversationally, “and paying attention.”  
The line went dead.  
Taylor grimaced before slamming the phone down. Isaac hung up at the same time.  
“I spoke to Dekker,” he informed him, “they were trying to trace it. They couldn’t.”  
“Great,” Taylor ran his fingers through his hair as Zac re-entered the room.


	4. 04

“What do you mean they couldn’t trace it?” Zac frowned at Isaac, not returning to his seat.  
“For one he wasn’t on the line long enough,” Isaac explained, “and then he said something about re-routing overseas? I’m not sure. It wasn’t a good time, obviously.”  
Taylor returned to the counter and leant against it, feeling like he needed a drink more now than ever.  
“He’s not happy,” he said finally, looking up at Isaac.  
“We knew he wouldn’t be. Wasn’t that the idea?” Zac pointed out.  
“Did he threaten you?” Isaac asked.  
“No,” Taylor shook his head, “he just said he was paying attention.”  
“So how did he find out?” Zac’s eyes narrowed, “the interview hasn’t gone to air yet. How would he know what was said at all? How would he know we named him?”  
Taylor bit his lip as he struggled to think.  
“Did they do a sweep of your entire house when Nat realised your phone was tapped?” Isaac asked suddenly.  
“I just assumed they would have,” Taylor frowned suddenly, “maybe we need to do it again?”  
“Couldn’t hurt,” Zac reasoned.  
“Do we think he’s going to try and make a move because of this?” Isaac frowned.  
They stood in silence for a moment, before Taylor turned and reached up to one of the high cupboards. Searching with his hand in a place he couldn’t see, he soon produced Krüger’s silver pistol and set it on the counter.  
“Let him try,” he said.  
“I don’t know how you can stand to have that thing around,” Zac stared down at it.  
“There’s no gun in the world I know better than this one,” Taylor looked between them.  
“But are you prepared to use it?” Isaac asked seriously.  
Taylor didn’t reply at first, looking like he was internally arguing with himself.  
“I don’t know,” he finally admitted, “but I guess we’ll find out.”  
“Well that’s encouraging,” Zac muttered.  
Isaac’s phone rang. Now on edge, Taylor and Zac both stared as he answered.  
“Hello? … Oh hey Dekker. Sorry about earlier.”  
A sigh of relief went through the room.  
“No, we’re still here. Sure.”  
They watched as Isaac listened carefully. He was only on the phone for a few minutes before ending the call and getting back to them.  
“Dekker and some of his team are going to head in to Tulsa first thing in the morning.”  
“Why? Because of Seth?” Taylor wasn’t sure if it were a good or bad thing.  
“Obviously,” Isaac shrugged, “if he’s made contact – and because he already knew about the interview – they say chances are that he’s close by. So they’re upping our protective detail.”  
“That’s never a bad thing,” Zac considered, “I’d like the idea of being able to sleep at night.”  
“They’ll also be able to sweep your house again,” Isaac added.  
“That solves that problem,” Taylor dug his cell phone out of his pocket, “I’d better call Nat and tell her to stay at Mom’s an extra few days.”  
“Did they want us to stick together for the detail?” Zac asked, “do we need to stay here too?”  
“I guess we’ll find out in the morning,” Isaac shrugged.


	5. 05

A few days later, Taylor answered the phone at a random ungodly hour of the morning.  
“Hello?”  
“Hello Taylor.”  
Taylor hung up. When Zac appeared in the hallway looking disgruntled, he gave him an apologetic look.  
“He’s still calling?” Zac asked, one eye only half open.  
“Yeah,” Taylor rubbed his eyes.  
“Why don’t you talk to him?” Zac suggested, “maybe if you keep him on the line long enough…”  
“He never stays on the line longer than thirty seconds,” Taylor shook his head, “they can’t trace him.”  
“This is harassment.”  
“But who’s gonna stop him?” Taylor smirked.  
“Have you considered leaving the phone off the hook?”  
“Yes,” Taylor nodded, eyeing an opposite doorway where Dekker came into view, “but I need it in case something happens to Nat or the kids.”  
“Don’t worry,” Dekker offered, “eventually he’ll-“  
He cut off as an all-mighty boom sounded through the house, making the windows rattle. Taylor and Zac both put a hand on the wall to steady themselves as Dekker took off at a sprint for the front door.  
“What the heck was that?!” Zac exclaimed as Isaac appeared from the hall.  
Taylor followed Dekker, his brothers soon following him. Dekker had stopped in the front doorway as a cloud of smoke wafted in past him, and the Hansons could smell burning fuel.  
“What happened?!” Taylor called out.  
“Stay inside!” Dekker ordered, and it was suddenly obvious he was using himself as a human barrier.  
Taylor coughed as the smoke hit him, before bee lining for the living room window. Zac joined him as Isaac tried to see past Dekker.  
“Holy mother of-“  
“That’s my car!” Taylor exclaimed with an incredulous look.  
“He blew up your car?” Isaac frowned, following them in.  
Taylor looked up at him before indicating the window.  
“He blew up my freaking car!” he repeated.  
The phone rang.  
“Dammit,” he cursed, running back to the kitchen.  
“Tay wait!” Zac called after him.  
Taylor picked up the receiver.  
“What do you want?!” he demanded.  
“Did you get my message?” Seth’s voice came through.  
“Loud and clear,” Taylor confirmed, “Seth my _kids_ could have been in that car!”  
“Oh I’m sorry. Next time I’ll wait until they are. Don’t hang up on me again.”  
Taylor grimaced as Seth hung up, before hitting the receiver against the wall and putting it away.  
“What happened?” Zac was too late to hear once he walked in.  
“I was hanging up on him so that he wouldn’t have a chance to blackmail me into staying on the line,” Taylor ran his fingers through his hair, “that’s what he just did.”


	6. 06

“We’ll need to clear the house out. Is there somewhere you boys can go?” Dekker asked once the perimeter had been secured.  
“3CG?” Isaac suggested.  
“We can spend as much time as we need to there,” Taylor nodded.  
“Good. Because this could take all day.”  
“Do you think you guys will be tracking vocals?” Zac looked between his brothers.   
“After this?” Taylor raised an eyebrow.   
“Why?” Isaac asked.   
“Because I might head home if that’s okay,” Zac looked to Dekker, “I can join you again tonight. I just really want to see my baby girl.”  
“I can send two of my guys with you,” Dekker offered, “and we’ll make sure a squad car does drive-bys on the hour. We’ll keep you safe.”  
“Do I need to get clearance from Andrews?”  
“I’m authorised to delegate positions here,” Dekker assured.  
“Great,” Zac sighed thankfully.  
“At least it wasn’t your car,” Taylor mused.  
“And to that, we’ll need to check it over,” Dekker eyed Zac, “just in case. What did Seth say on the phone?”  
“He threatened my kids,” Taylor said straight away, “but basically confirmed it was because I kept hanging up on him.”  
“Then it sounds like a one-off, but we still need to be sure,” Dekker looked back to Zac, “we’ll take maybe an hour to thoroughly check your car over.”  
“Be careful with it,” Zac went to grab the keys from the counter and hand them over, “it’s new. My last one ended in a fireball too.”  
“We’ll do what we can,” Dekker gave a casual salute before leaving the room.  
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with?” Isaac asked Zac.  
“Like I said, I’ll be there tonight,” Zac promised, “but I really need to catch up on sleep. And like I said, I’m missing Junia.”  
“And Shepherd?”  
“And Shepherd,” Zac mused.  
“Be careful,” Taylor insisted, folding his arms over his chest.  
“We’ve been ‘careful’ for six months. It’s become routine,” Zac smirked, before going to pack the overnight bag he’d brought with him the few days earlier.  
“Maybe he won’t call the studio,” Taylor said hopefully, “he hasn’t called my cell after all.”  
“Not that we’ll hear the phone if it rings anyway,” Isaac pointed out.  
“Hopefully he’ll understand that,” Taylor said, a bit louder than usual in case they were somehow being listened to even then.  
“Want to pack up?” Isaac suggested.  
Taylor gave him a nod before following him from the room.  
Zac left with his escort about an hour later, and it was just over an hour after that when Isaac’s car had been cleared that he and Taylor were able to leave. Dekker left two soldiers behind to guard the house and escorted the two of them himself.  
Taylor took the pistol just in case.


	7. 07

The sun had well and truly gone down when Taylor got a call from Zac saying he was on his way.  
“Must have slept all day,” Isaac mused.  
“Which means he’ll want to work all night,” Taylor rolled his eyes.  
He jumped as the power suddenly went out. As it took a moment to register what had happened, Taylor took out his cell phone again to use the screen as a light.  
“Dekker?!” he called out, knowing the man barely knew his way around the building yet.  
When there was no reply, he gave Isaac a worried look.  
“I’ll check it out,” Isaac offered, quickly searching a nearby drawer for a flashlight.  
“Ike,” Taylor took him by the arm, “we don’t exactly have the best track record for splitting up in this kind of situation.”  
Isaac found the flashlight and turned it on, soon finding another and handing it to Taylor.  
“Well one of us needs to find Dekker, and the other needs to go check the fuses.”  
“Maybe that’s what Dekker’s done?” Taylor’s voice was hopeful.  
“In any case, Zac will be here any second. Dekker?!”  
Taylor went to the doorway and shone his light down the hall. He could hear footsteps down near the front door.  
“Dekker?!” he tried again.  
Isaac pushed past and began down the hall, heading for the sound. Taylor debated whether or not to follow him before he heard something go flying past his head.  
Almost falling back into the room, he shone the flashlight in the opposite direction. The light landed on Jack.  
“Jack?!” Taylor exclaimed, before seeing him reload the dart gun in his hand.  
Taylor’s hand fell to the pistol in his belt to make sure it was there before he turned and bolted down the hallway.  
“IKE?!” he yelled, coming to the end and turning the corner, “they’re here!”  
There was no sign of his brother – or Dekker - but he could hear Jack’s footsteps right behind him. Not having time to really work out where he was going, he ducked into the sound studio and closed the door behind him. Jack’s bodyweight hit the door before it could close and Taylor dropped the flashlight to try and close it.  
“Jack don’t do this!” he cried, knowing the younger man was stronger than him.  
He heard Jack take a couple of deep breaths and knew the door was about to come down. Not thinking of anything else that could help him, he made to reach for the gun. Taking his weight from the door caused it to burst open and he fell forward onto his stomach on the floor just next to the flashlight. Jack was on him in a second and Taylor felt a sharp pain in his leg.  
“NO!” he yelled, grabbing the pistol and turning onto his back to fire.  
He wasn’t sure if it hit, but Jack backed off. Taylor scrambled to his feet and limped into the mixing room, closing and locking the door behind him before reaching down to pull the dart from his leg. Feeling how light it was, he knew he was in trouble.  
He jumped when he heard Jack pounding on the door, before quickly reaching for his cell phone. He could already feel the sedative taking effect, and barely managed to speed dial Zac.  
Looking up at the window behind the mixing desk, he felt faint as he barely made out Jack’s outline.  
“Hello?” he heard Zac’s voice as he slowly slid down the door.  
“Help us,” Taylor whispered into the phone before passing out completely.


	8. 08

Zac looked at his phone with a frown as the line went dead. All he’d heard was Taylor whispering something illegible, and then a long moment of silence before the call ended.  
“Something wrong?” one of the soldiers with him asked.  
“I don’t know,” Zac admitted, scratching his head, “he could have dialled me by mistake I guess.”  
He walked around the car to where the other soldier was fitting his spare tyre.  
“Not that I’m complaining, but how long are you gonna be?” he asked.  
“Give me five,” the soldier responded with a grunt as the lug wrench hit the bitumen.  
Zac hesitated, then turned his back and stared at his phone. After a moment he decided to try and call back. The phone rang, but continued ringing out.  
Starting to get a bad feeling, he tried Isaac. With the same result.  
“Okay pack it up, something is definitely wrong,” Zac insisted, looking between them.  
The soldier not concentrating on the tyre change immediately took up his radio.  
“Dekker, come in.”  
He paused, waiting for a reply that wasn’t coming. The other soldier quickly finished up what he was doing before returning the tools to the trunk. Zac was already back in the car by the time the soldier on his radio called for backup to head to 3CG.  
When Zac finally pulled up in the driveway he was surprised that Isaac’s car was nowhere to be seen. Waiting until he had the okay from the soldiers, he followed one of them up to the building while the other stayed out front.  
“Door’s unlocked,” the soldier informed him as he opened it.  
“They should be here,” Zac insisted, stepping in behind him and flicking the light switch.  
Nothing happened.  
“Power’s out,” Zac frowned, “IKE? TAY?!”  
The soldier hushed him, keeping one hand on his gun holster as he switched on a pen light with his other. Cautiously he began inward, checking every doorway he came to.  
When he made it to the sound studio door, he got on his radio straight away.  
“This is Devon, we’ve got blood at 3CG.”  
“What?!” Zac exclaimed, quickly coming up behind him.  
He gulped when he saw the blood splatter on the door and on the floor, obviously from a gunshot wound.  
Devon waited for a response before clarifying the situation. As he was talking, Zac heard the squad cars pulling up outside.  
“I’m gonna…” he pointed back over his shoulder, waiting for Devon’s nod before heading back outside.  
“You need to stay in sight,” the soldier waiting by the car insisted.  
“I don’t plan on going anywhere,” Zac assured, trying to get his head around how this could have happened.  
“I’ve got Dekker!” Devon suddenly called from inside.  
Zac had been about to call Kate when he put the phone away again and rushed back inside. Devon was off to the left, standing over Dekker’s unconscious body.  
“Is he…?”  
“He’s alive,” Devon confirmed, slipping on a plastic glove before retrieving a dart from the soldier’s neck, “looks like he’s been tranquilised. I think it’s safe to say Creed’s in town.”


	9. 09

Taylor felt a familiar headache as he came to. Unable to stop himself from groaning, his first reaction was to try and hold his head. When he realised he couldn’t, his eyes shot open.  
All he could see were stars. But when his eyes finally came into focus, he realised it was just the light filtering through a woollen blanket that had been thrown over him. Trying to twist his wrists as his mind cleared, he tried to work out exactly where he was.  
He was in a car headed down a gravel track, he could tell that much. Cramped into the back seat so that his legs could barely move. Around his wrists he felt the weight of handcuffs, and he’d been gagged with thin cloth. Unable to stop another groan escaping as he tried to move his legs, he froze when he heard someone hushing him. It didn’t sound like Seth, but it very well could have been Jack.  
Staying frozen in case one of them were tempted to put a bullet in him for taking a shot at Jack, Taylor waited to see what would happen. It was all he could really do.  
It only took another ten minutes for the car to pull to a halt. Taylor heard the driver door open and footsteps work their way to the door his feet were pointed at, the door soon opening and the blanket being carefully pulled away.  
Taylor squinted, realising it was early daylight. Before he could concentrate, the man had grabbed his ankles and dragged him from the back seat. Taylor hit the dirt with a grunt, his back now up against the car. When the man bent over to pull down his gag, Taylor finally saw who had him.  
His eyes widened.  
“No!” he cried out, feet suddenly scrambling to try and push himself away.  
“Calm down,” Nate insisted, “I know this must be a bit of a shock.”  
When he saw that Taylor was in full panic mode, he reached over and grabbed him by the shirt. Pulling him up to his feet he closed the back door with his other hand and shoved Taylor against it.  
“What are you doing here?!” Taylor’s brow furrowed, his legs struggling to hold himself upright, “where’s Seth?!”  
“Seth?” Nate scorned, “why would you want Seth?”  
“Seth came for me,” Taylor’s eyes darted, suddenly a lot more awake, “so how did I end up here?!”  
“Don’t you worry about Seth,” Nate insisted, carefully brushing dust from Taylor’s shirt.  
“Why not?!” Taylor was already frustrated, “where are we?!”  
Nate sighed and reached up to replace Taylor’s gag. Taylor tried to duck away, but was unsuccessful.  
“Seth doesn’t know we’re here, you have nothing to worry about,” Nate assured in a calm tone, patting his cheek.  
Taylor tried to protest, but nothing came out legible.  
“And Seth didn’t come for you, his little protégé came for you,” Nate corrected, “Seth wouldn’t be caught at ground zero, he’s too smart for that.”  
When Nate looked away for a second – up toward the large wooden cabin they’d come to seemingly in the middle of nowhere – Taylor took a few steps back.  
“Whoa, hey,” Nate quickly ducked forward and took his arm before he could get far, “before you go getting any ideas about running off into the woods and getting lost forever and dying of starvation and all that, I have something to show you.”  
Confused at his words, Taylor waited as Nate reached into the front of the car and popped the trunk.  
“You’re gonna love this,” Nate grinned, returning to take him by the arm.  
As he was led around to the trunk Taylor tried in vain to slip his hands through the cuffs. But when Nate lifted the trunk and he saw Isaac’s unconscious body, he began to panic again.


	10. 10

When Nate realised he was having trouble breathing, he begrudgingly removed the gag again.  
“Nate, please, no no no,” Taylor fired off, “please let him go. He has nothing to do with this!”  
“He has everything to do with this,” Nate looked between them, confused, “the guy has been nothing but a thorn in my side since day one.”  
“But what are you gonna do?!” Taylor’s heart was pounding, “are you gonna kill him?!”  
“Taylor if I was going to kill him, why would I bring him with us?” Nate hit Taylor lightly over the head, “think! And calm down, for Christ’s sake.”  
Taylor stood back and started taking deep breaths, like he knew Isaac would have told him to. Knowing he wasn’t going anywhere now Nate let him have his space.  
“Okay, so…” Taylor caught his breath, “somehow you’ve managed to get one over on Seth. And you took Ike so that he wouldn’t come after us.”  
“Which he has been known to do,” Nate nodded.  
Taylor gave him a condescending glance before looking away again.  
“Where’s Zac in all this?” he was afraid to ask, “he was on his way to 3CG when…”  
“Zac has the army on his side, I wouldn’t worry about him,” Nate brushed off, “he’ll be fine. Seth’s not stupid. Of course with you out of the way, Zac will be next on his hit list.”  
Taylor gave him a worried look at that. When Nate saw it he slowly stepped forward. Taylor instantly backed off before he saw him hold his arms out, as if inviting him into a hug.  
“Come here,” Nate insisted.  
Taylor froze on the spot, a familiar icy fear rising in his chest. He didn’t move as Nate came forward and wrapped his arms around him in a very one-sided embrace.  
“Eighteen months…” Nate sighed into his chest, “it’s good to finally see you again.”  
Taylor gulped, trying not to make any move or sound that would egg Nate on. When Nate finally let go he took another awkward step back.  
“You’re shaking,” Nate frowned, “let’s get you inside and get a warm fire going, okay?”  
“Nate... what are we doing here?” Taylor’s voice broke as he looked back down at Isaac, “you can’t just keep us here forever. You know Seth will find us.”  
“You let me worry about Seth,” Nate insisted, taking Taylor by the arm again, “you don’t have to worry about anything ever again. You’re with me now.”  
Taylor began to feel sick as Nate replaced the gag again. He used one hand to close the trunk on Isaac before starting to lead Taylor up to the cabin.  
Taylor wasn’t sure what he was expecting to find inside the cabin, but to see a somewhat normal and almost cosy setting was a surprise. The main room opened onto a kitchen in the back left, separated only by a small dining set. A three-seater couch sat in front of an open fireplace to the right, complete with rug on the floor. He could only assume the doorway at the back right led toward the bedroom and bathroom.  
Nate took him to one of the dining chairs and sat him down with his back to the door.   
“Remember our old friends?” he mused, pulling some cable ties from his jacket.  
Taylor only groaned as Nate fastened them around his upper arms, holding them to the backrest of the chair. Once they were secure he knelt to tie his ankles to the chair legs, before once again standing and walking back outside.  
Taylor tested the bonds but from experience knew he wasn’t going anywhere. The next time he saw Nate he was dragging Isaac into the living room before leaving him to lie on the rug.


	11. 11

Taylor let out an exclamation when he saw Nate suddenly injecting Isaac with a tranquiliser which looked strikingly similar to the ones he’d meant to use on Taylor those eighteen months earlier.  
“Relax Taylor,” Nate insisted, unable to ignore the outburst, “it’s just to keep him asleep.”  
Taylor cringed at that, suddenly wishing he’d fought harder. Maybe he could have gotten to the car and driven the both of them out of there. Not able to help Isaac, the familiar feeling of helplessness was starting to bring tears to his eyes.  
Nate slid cable ties around Isaac’s wrists and ankles before setting to work on getting the fire going. It was soon blazing away, and he cautiously moved Isaac’s body further back toward the couch. When Taylor looked over again after this happened, he realised he couldn’t see him. Trying to keep himself calm, he watched wide-eyed as Nate finished what he was doing before making his way back over to the dining set. He pulled up one of the other two chairs and sat himself in front of Taylor.  
“I know this is very sudden, and it’s going to take some time to come to terms with,” he began softly, “but I’d very much like to pick up where we left off. And I know we have some issues to work through considering what happened that night in Reynosa, but with your co-operation I really think we can get through it.”  
Taylor just frowned, unable to respond. Nate leant forward in his seat.  
“Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s a two-way street,” he clasped his hands, “I need to atone for my sins as well. But surely you can get where I’m coming from, I mean I’ll never walk properly again.”  
Taylor had noticed his limp, presumably as a result from Taylor shooting him in the hip. He realised it must have hit the bone and mentally scored one to himself.  
“But I’m willing to forgive you for that,” Nate insisted, as if to reassure him, “in order to move forward in our relationship. We can’t let little things like that hold us back. It’s very much in the past. And now, I need to apologise for my part too. I am sorry for strangling you that night. I didn’t think things would go that far, and I was sure you’d understand that at the time I felt I didn’t have a choice, but when Isaac came to see me he brought it up again and it made me realise that you might have been hurt by it. So I am sorry.”  
Taylor looked over to the couch again, the mention of Isaac making him worry. He groaned again when Nate took hold of his chin and turned him back to face him.  
“This is serious. I need you to listen to me when I’m talking to you,” Nate insisted, “or we’re not going to get anywhere and this will all be for nothing.”  
Taylor felt his eyes welling up as Nate reached over to pull the gag down yet again.  
“Now, is there something you want to say to me?” he coaxed.  
“You want me to forgive you for trying to kill me?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, his voice shaky.  
“Even God forgives those who repent, do you think you’re above God?” Nate looked curious.  
Taylor rolled his eyes incredulously before crying out as Nate grabbed his chin again.  
“I’d also like you to apologise for shooting me,” Nate insisted, not letting him go this time.  
Taylor frowned as he registered the change in Nate’s tone. The end of the statement came out as more of an order than anything else.  
Knowing the difference, he gulped again as he tried to hold his head up.  
“I’m sorry,” his voice broke as he forced it out, “I’m sorry I shot you.”  
“And…?” Nate raised an eyebrow.  
“And I forgive you,” Taylor squeezed his eyes shut as he lied.  
“Good boy,” Nate gave his cheek a pat as he finally let him go.


	12. 12

“Now I know how Ike must have felt,” Zac was pacing back and forth in Taylor’s kitchen, “I mean shouldn’t we be going somewhere? Doing something?”  
“We need to keep you on lockdown,” Devon insisted from his post in the doorway, “if Creed has your brother, it makes sense he would come for you next.”  
“Then where’s Ike?” Zac demanded, “ _that_ doesn’t make sense. As far as we know, Seth never knew he was inducted. And we kept that out of the media.”  
“He may have been collateral, we can’t be sure,” Zac’s other escort – Haddon – shrugged.  
“Collateral? For what?” Zac scorned.  
“He may have been taken to use as a bargaining chip, or simply to be kept out of the way.”  
“Then why didn’t they just leave him with Dekker?”  
“It would make sense if they wanted to use him to threaten your brother,” Devon pointed out.  
“Dammit,” Zac ran his fingers through his hair, “and there’s no way… like…”  
He trailed off as he tried to focus.  
“Okay what would Ike do?” he stopped pacing, his eyes darting across the opposite wall, “he’d go for any video he could get hold of. Did anyone get the security feeds from 3CG? Street cameras? Satellites, anything?!”  
“They went over 3CG last night,” Haddon confirmed, “they got nothing but the blood spatter. It was sent for analysis and should be back by midday at the latest.”  
Zac took a deep breath at the reminder of the mess left in the studio.  
“What about surveillance?” he asked, absently rubbing one of the scars on his chest.  
“I can check in with Andrews and see how they’re going,” Devon offered, “but you know as well as I do he doesn’t like to be disturbed if he’s on a roll.”  
“I don’t care. My brothers are out there,” Zac eyed him icily, “and that psycho has them.”  
“Okay,” Devon nodded, stepping out of the doorway and radioing in.  
“Hey,” Haddon gave him a nod, “you okay?”  
“No I’m not ‘okay’,” Zac snapped, “it wasn’t supposed to happen like this. This wasn’t supposed to happen!”  
“What?” Haddon frowned, suddenly a lot more interested in what Zac had to say.  
Zac let out a sound of frustration before taking a seat at the kitchen counter.  
“It’s just never happened this way before,” he was obviously having trouble wrapping his head around it, “it’s always been… Ike’s always been here. He’s always known what to do. I haven’t. I don’t know what to do. I’ve never had to know what to do.”  
Haddon hesitated, before standing from his place at the dining table and walking over to him. He put his hand on Zac’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.  
“Leave it to us, that’s all you need to do,” he assured.  
“We left it to Dekker and they were taken,” Zac said flatly, “forgive my scepticism.”  
Haddon sighed and stepped away as Devon returned to the room.  
“They’ve been reviewing street cams around 3CG,” he reported as Zac looked up, “but it’s not looking good. Apparently there were a few vehicles that could have been involved, and each one of them scattered. Whatever went down, it was well-planned.”  
“It would had to have been,” Haddon reasoned.  
“They couldn’t find my brothers on film?” Zac looked worried.  
“Sorry man,” Devon shook his head, “but it’s not unusual so I hear.”


	13. 13

Hours later, Taylor watched carefully as Nate made a few trips back and forth to the car to bring some things in. One of them was a cooler which he used to fill the small bar fridge in the kitchen, and another was a large black duffel bag which he threw onto the couch.  
Upon a third trip to the car Taylor heard some moans from Isaac’s direction.  
“Ike?!” he hissed, trying to get a grip on the floor with his feet so that he could turn the chair but failing, “Ike?! Please, you need to stay quiet!”  
Another groan came from the couch. Taylor couldn’t see far enough over his shoulder to check how far away Nate was, or if he’d heard it. A moment later, Isaac’s face appeared above the cushions, obviously struggling to stay conscious.  
“What’s going on?” he groaned.  
“Ike stay down!” Taylor hissed, Isaac’s eyes finally falling on his brother, “he’s outside! You need to pretend to be asleep!”  
“Really? That’s how you were going to play it?”  
Taylor’s eyes slid closed. Nate was standing in the doorway.  
Taylor heard him drop something metallic before he made his way around to where Isaac still lay on the floor. He watched as he stood over his brother, pulling another tranquiliser from his jacket.  
“Nate! Wait!” Taylor’s eyes widened, “you can’t keep doing that! You’ll make him sick, like I was last time! Please!”  
Nate hesitated, looking down on Isaac. Isaac barely registered what was happening, but he was awake enough to know exactly who was standing over him. He gulped.  
“Are you sick?” Nate demanded, not moving.  
“You’ll _make_ him sick!” Taylor exclaimed.  
“Shut up,” Nate held up a finger in his direction, “Isaac?”  
“I’m not about to run if that’s what you’re worried about,” Isaac groaned softly.  
Nate tilted his head consideringly before looking back at the open door. Obviously taking a moment to decide what to do, he slid the tranquiliser back into his jacket and pulled out a switchblade instead. Taking a step back, he leant over to cut the ties on Isaac’s ankles before grabbing his jacket and pulling him to his feet.  
“Can you walk?” Nate asked as Isaac struggled to even stand up straight.  
“I think so,” he coughed, blinking hard to try and get his eyes to focus.  
“Come with me.”  
“Where are you going?” Taylor stared as Nate led his brother outside.  
“You and I are having a serious talk when I get back,” Nate pointed the blade in his direction before moving out of his line of sight.  
Isaac had trouble finding his footing on the steps outside, but managed not to fall over. Nate took him down by the car before directing him left and around the outside of the cabin. By the time Isaac’s eyes cleared enough to actually see where he was going, they fell on the door to the cellar Nate was just starting to open.  
“Nate, what’s going on?” he asked, not resisting at all.  
“You need to get down there,” Nate insisted, still wielding the knife.  
Isaac looked down at the steps, knowing it was going to be hard. But Nate was not someone he wanted to test. Taking a moment to compose himself first, he began the awkward climb.  
He was barely halfway down when Nate closed and bolted the door, leaving him in the dark.


	14. 14

Taylor waited nervously as he heard Nate close the front door behind himself before making his way back to the table. He took up the chair beside him again, staring at him for a moment before sighing.  
“It appears I underestimated how much the passage of time would change you,” he began.  
“A lot’s happened in eighteen months,” Taylor was having trouble keeping eye contact, especially considering Nate was still fondling the knife.  
“I can see that.”  
When Taylor didn’t respond again he set the knife on the table. Taylor’s eyes followed it.  
“I don’t want to have to retrain you, Taylor.”  
“No no no! You don’t. You don’t have to,” Taylor immediately panicked.  
“Then you need to concentrate,” Nate insisted, staring him directly in the eye, “and start behaving in a manner that wouldn’t suggest otherwise.”  
“Nate I don’t know what you want from me,” Taylor shook his head, his eyes welling up again already, “I’ve been restrained since you picked me up. I don’t know what you’re expecting of me, and there’s nothing I could do that-“  
Nate put a finger up to silence him. Taylor stopped immediately, but it was hard.  
Nate paused as if to savour the silence.  
“We’ll need to start working on your vocality first,” he said.  
“No, no,” Taylor shook his head insistently as Nate stood up, “please, Nate. I swear I will do anything you ask of me. You don’t need to train me, just please let Ike go.”  
“We’ve already discussed that,” Nate grumbled as he made his way over to the couch.  
He unzipped the duffel bag and began rummaging through.  
“But you don’t need him here!” Taylor was getting fired up, “you said you were sick of him tracking you down, but I get it! We’re out in the middle of _nowhere_ this time. There’s no cameras, perfect tree cover from satellites…”  
He paused when he saw Nate throw a roll of duct tape onto the nearby coffee table.  
“…I get that you’ve been planning this for at least the last six months, probably longer,” he went on, “and you’ve done it really well. And because you have, you don’t need him here.”  
Taylor faltered again as a Taser appeared.  
“Please, Nate…” Taylor was begging now, “please don’t start this again. Just give me an order and I’ll follow it, I swear. But I can’t go through all that again, I can’t!”  
“I think you might be underestimating yourself,” Nate said absently as he started bringing everything over to the dining table and setting them down one by one.  
“I think I’ve been through enough to know,” Taylor looked incredulous.  
“Then here’s part of the problem,” Nate took up the Taser again and sat back down, “you’re thinking. You need to leave that up to your master now.”  
“My master?” Taylor looked incredulous, “Nate, if Seth finds out-”  
“How would Seth know?” Nate asked curious, “when we’re so isolated not even Isaac could find us.”  
“Seth’s tactics are more underhanded,” Taylor insisted, “he could already know where we are.”  
“I don’t think so,” Nate chuckled making Taylor shiver, “I know more tricks than he does.”  
“What do you mean by that?” Taylor’s eyes darted between Nate and the Taser.  
Nate just smiled silently, his finger wavering over the trigger tauntingly before he suddenly pressed down. Taylor cried out as the shock hit, but wasn’t given any time to recover before he felt duct tape going over his mouth again.


	15. 15

“Hello?” Zac picked up the phone.  
“Is that a Mr Zachary Hanson?”  
“Yes…” Zac’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.  
“We haven’t been formally introduced. My name is Seth Creed. I’m a friend of your brother’s.”  
Zac’s head shot to the left where he made eye contact with Devon. A few quick hand signals indicated to he and Haddon who was on the line.  
“I’d rethink my definition of the word ‘friend’ if I were you.”  
“Oh, so you’ve heard of me?”  
“Drop the act, Seth,” Zac grumbled, “what do you want?”  
“I want to know where he is.”  
Zac froze, a frown slowly creeping across his face. He looked over to Devon again but he was already on the radio and Haddon had left the room.  
“What do you mean you want to know where he is?” Zac demanded, “you took him. You took both of them.”  
“I’m afraid that’s incorrect,” Seth drawled.  
“You mean to tell me that wasn’t you at the studio? Because the military seemed pretty darn sure that it was. You left a few things behind.”  
“My boy I’d never go on a recon mission myself,” Seth almost scorned, “but yes – I did send some scouts to pick them up. Turns out we weren’t the only ones interested in acquiring Taylor at the time.”  
Zac ran his fingers through his hair, stopping to leave his hand on his head.  
“So you don’t have them?” he realised.  
“Why I do believe he’s got it.”  
“Then who does?!”  
Zac could hear Seth sighing down the line.  
“Take a long, hard think about who else would be after your brother,” he seemed to hint, “I’m sure you’ll connect the dots eventually.”  
“Are you saying you think Nate has him? Them?” Zac frowned.  
“Well you’re just on a roll this afternoon, aren’t you?”  
“If you don’t have them and you already think that Nate does, why are you calling me?” Zac was getting pissed off already, “why don’t you go after them yourself? I thought you guys wanted Nate dead just as much as we did?”  
“Perhaps Nate had contacted you,” Seth reasoned, “I’m unaware of his current exploits.”  
“Evidently. So do us both a favour and go find him,” Zac scorned.  
“Believe me, we’ve been trying to,” Seth’s voice lowered, “which is also why I felt I should give you a call. To warn you.”  
“Warn me of what?” Zac frowned again, “Taylor’s the one Nate wants, he’s not going to come after me.”  
“Taylor’s also the one that I want,” Seth amended, “but if Nate has him, then it’s time to move on.”  
Zac paused, suddenly knowing where he was going.  
“We’ll see you soon, Zac.”  
Zac cursed as the line went dead, and immediately turned to Devon. He was shaking his head.  
“Sorry,” he shrugged, “we couldn’t get a trace.”


	16. 16

Taylor struggled to catch his breath as Nate paced behind him. Sweat felt like it was pouring from him, and he could feel drops of blood running down his arms from where the cable ties had started cutting into his skin. The tape remained secure around his jaw and the pins from the Taser remained in his chest.  
He didn’t move when Nate walked around into his line of sight again, but his eyes suddenly followed the switchblade when Nate set the Taser down and picked the knife up instead.  
“You know I missed this…” Nate said in a reminiscent tone as he took a seat again, looking over the blade, “the blood… the fear… you.”  
Taylor tried to lean backward as Nate began to trail the blade up his thigh, barely gracing his jeans.  
“It’s like a drug,” he went on, “every now and then you just need another hit.”  
Taylor’s cry was muffled by the tape as on the word ‘hit’ Nate struck out with the blade and cut a slit just above Taylor’s belt on his right side. He heard Nate chuckling as he squeezed his eyes shut.  
“I’m sorry, I’m getting a bit carried away,” he threw the knife onto the table and stood up again.  
The movement made Taylor open his eyes, and he flinched as Nate not-so-carefully plucked the pins from his chest.  
“That will do for now,” he gave his chest a pat, making Taylor cough with the impact.  
Taylor watched as he set about recharging the Taser before packing up his tools. The switchblade and the duct tape remained on the table, but the rest went back into the duffel. When Nate was done he came back to Taylor’s side and frowned.  
“You’re bleeding,” he stated blandly.  
Taylor couldn’t even find the strength to roll his eyes.  
Nate picked up the blade again and used it to cut the ties holding Taylor’s arms to the chair. With his ankles still restrained, Taylor still couldn’t move. Nate studied the cuts on his arms, clicking his tongue thoughtfully.  
“I don’t have any medical supplies,” he admitted, Taylor flinching as he hit a tender spot, “I’ll have to go into town for that. But I’m sure it can wait until tomorrow, right?”  
Taylor looked worried, unsure if he actually expected a response or not. When he leant over to grab the duct tape from the table it became evident that he didn’t.  
Careful to stay above and below the bleeding wounds, Nate bound the tape around Taylor’s chest to hold him to the chair instead. Taylor already found it a relief, though his shoulders were screaming at him from his arms being held behind for so long. When Nate was done he threw the tape onto the table again and took the duffel back over to the couch. Once he’d dropped it he sat beside it, making himself comfortable with a sigh.  
“It’ll get easier,” he promised, “when this is all over. When we settle down. I don’t know how long that’s going to take yet, but I guess that’s up to you.”  
Taylor didn’t make a sound, just hung his head in defeat. He wished he could just fall asleep and wake up from the nightmare.  
“But we have all the time in the world,” Nate sighed again, just staring into the fire, “and yes, I have been planning this for a long time. I’ve been planning this since that night in the trailer, when you agreed to be my slave.”  
Taylor looked up toward him but could only see the back of his head.  
“I meant what I said that night,” his voice seemed to grow sullen, “that I’d look after you. I know today might not make it seem that way, but you have to trust that it’s for your own good.”


	17. 17

It was getting dark outside by the time Nate awoke from his siesta. Taylor had almost managed to fall asleep himself, but when he heard Nate move his eyes sprang open.  
Nate got up and stretched before making his way to the kitchen and turning on the light. As he began bustling about, Taylor deciphered that he was putting together something to eat. He soon had a pot on the stove and stood back against the wall to wait.  
After a time, he looked over at Taylor.  
“You look terrible,” he frowned.  
Taylor diverted his eyes. If he could have apologised for looking bad after a torture session, he would have.  
“We’ll get you cleaned up soon,” Nate promised before checking on the food.  
Taylor almost groaned in relief, knowing that meant he’d at least get out of the chair. Or so he hoped. With Nate he could never be sure.  
When Nate was finally finished in the kitchen, he filled two bowls with noodles and brought one over to the table. He set it down in the third place – directly opposite Taylor – and took a seat. As he began to eat, he eyed his captive. Eventually he held up a finger as if to make a point.  
“Masters eat first,” he insisted, wiping his mouth before continuing.  
Taylor just frowned, wondering how Nate would expect him to eat after the last few hours.  
Nate took his time. When he was done, he stood and took his plate back to the kitchen. He returned with the other and took up the seat beside Taylor again. Setting the bowl on the table, he leant over and carefully ripped the tape from his mouth. Taylor took his first deep breath in hours as he worked to compose himself.  
“Here,” Nate held out a fork of noodles to feed him with.  
“Nate I can’t eat,” Taylor’s voice croaked softly.  
“You can, and you will,” Nate insisted, “we don’t want you getting sick like last time, now do we?”  
Taylor was too tired to argue. Nate fed him slowly, and while Taylor felt nauseas most of the way he did manage to keep it all down. When they were done he expected to be gagged again, so he was relieved when Nate pushed aside the tape in favour of the switchblade.  
“Let’s get you cleaned up,” he said softly, cutting Taylor’s bonds.  
He helped him to his feet, though he had to lean against the table as he got his bearings.  
“Nate?” he asked softly once he was standing, “could I please have the cuffs off? You can put them together in front again but my shoulders are really hurting.”  
Taylor jumped a little as Nate held up a finger to silence him again.  
Taking him by the arm, Nate led him through the back doorway. They walked into a large bedroom complete with two single beds, and Taylor gulped a little when he saw the one closest to the bathroom had chains discreetly to the side of it. Nate led him through to the bathroom on the left.  
“Take your time,” he offered as Taylor turned to him in surprise.  
He was holding the key to the handcuffs. Taylor let him undo them before quickly bringing his hands to the front and rubbing his wrists with a grimace.  
“Now I don’t have any of your clothes with me this time,” Nate gave an apologetic look, “but I took note of your sizing and got you some things. They’re in that cupboard over there.”  
He indicated to the right, “and there isn’t much hot water so don’t take long in the shower.”  
He closed the door behind Taylor and left him to it. Taylor waited until he heard his footsteps fade away a little, before turning on the light and checking himself over in the mirror.


	18. 18

Nate was right, he did look terrible.  
Taylor did the best he could to clean up his wounds, but he knew the ones on his arms and the one on his waist all needed bandaging. He had a quick look in the bathroom cabinets but as Nate had earlier warned he couldn’t find anything medicinal.  
While he was going through cupboards he found the clothes Nate had bought for him – still with store tags attached. He hadn’t spared any expense on the stores he’d gone to, which made Taylor vaguely wonder how much money he had stashed away somewhere. In any case there were some good pairs of jeans (in the right size), some shorts (considering the weather was warm, he guessed) and a small selection of shirts including button downs and wife beaters. It was obvious this wasn’t just a weekend away, this would be his wardrobe for a long time to come.  
Trying not to dwell on it he selected a change of clothes and set them aside. Then it was time for a shower. He eyed the door for a moment wishing he could lock it from the inside, but considered that Nate was a very different person from both Krüger and Seth and he almost felt he could trust him to keep his space.  
When he was done and newly changed into jeans and a black wife beater, he set his bloodied clothes into the wash basket and hesitated. He didn’t want to go back out there, but he knew if he didn’t that Nate would eventually come looking for him. In the end deciding that if he could do it for Krüger he could do it for Nate, he stepped over to the door and knocked.  
“Come on out,” he heard Nate call from the bedroom.  
With a slight gulp Taylor turned the doorknob and opened the door. Nate was sitting on the closest bed, a shackle in his hands. Taylor could see that it was attached to one of the chains he’d seen – the end of it secured to the foot of the bed.  
“One foot up here,” Nate patted the bed beside him.  
Taylor eyed the door. Nate wasn’t armed, he could very well make a run for it. But he was weak, Nate had easy access to the Taser, and he wouldn’t begin to know where to look for Isaac on the way out. After only a slight pause to think it through, he obeyed Nate’s word.  
Nate locked the shackle around his ankle and Taylor once again felt every bit the prisoner he was.  
“The chain is long enough to reach the bathroom if you need to go in the night,” Nate held up the key for emphasis as he stood from the bed, “just don’t keep me awake.”  
Taylor lowered his head as Nate walked around him. He made his way to the other bed, placing the key to the shackle on the opposite bedside table where Taylor knew he couldn’t reach.  
While he was distracted by the act, Taylor checked the shackle over.  
“I’d advise you to get as much sleep as you can, we have an early start tomorrow,” Nate insisted, making Taylor look up with worry.  
Nate caught the look.  
“Don’t worry,” he insisted as he pulled the covers aside and got into his bed, “we just need to work out exactly what Krüger was training you to do and how it relates to what I’ll need from you here.”  
Taylor considered that as he sat down on the edge of the bed, his back to Nate. The chain on the shackle rattled every time he moved, so he knew he was going to have a hard time not waking Nate.  
“Can I ask a question?” he asked softly, hoping Nate wasn’t trying to sleep yet.  
“That was a question,” Nate smirked, “but go ahead.”  
“Where’s Ike?” Taylor asked, looking over his shoulder.  
“He’s in the cellar,” Nate offered freely, already with his eyes closed, “he’ll be fine.”


	19. 19

“This is ridiculous,” Zac rested his chin in his hand as he sat at the counter, “I feel like a sitting duck.”  
“You don’t look like a duck.”  
Zac gave Haddon a scornful look.  
“Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood,” he held a hand up in surrender, “we could be stuck here a while.”  
“Got some Intel on the cars at 3CG,” Devon announced as he re-entered the kitchen.  
“Yeah?” Zac looked up hopefully.  
“Two unmarked vans we’ve still got nothing on, though it appears whoever was bleeding took one of those. Some blood was found a street or so away in the direction one of them took,” Devon explained, “the DNA is a match.”  
“The vans would be Seth’s,” Zac gave Haddon a glance, “and if Seth doesn’t have my brothers, then one of their guys was bleeding. Score one to us.”  
“The red car was stolen two days earlier from just outside Fayetteville, Arkansas. By all accounts it headed back in that direction.”  
“That’s gotta be Nate,” Zac sat up straight, “can they track it?”  
“Already happening,” Devon assured, “I’m sure they’ll let us know as soon as they find anything.”  
“How long will it take?”  
“I don’t know, I’m not on the detail.”  
Zac sighed and rolled his eyes, once again wishing that at least Isaac were there with him.  
“However, I will warn you that Nathan Devereux is the bureau’s problem, and not the military’s,” Devon added.  
“Excuse me?” Zac raised an eyebrow.  
“He means…” Haddon cut in with a sideways look at Devon, “that as far as we’re concerned, Seth Creed is the main priority. We need to focus on both tracking him, and keeping you out of his hands. This is more important than chasing after someone who may or may not have worked for him at some point in the past.”  
Zac took a moment for it to sink in. When it did, he got to his feet.  
“So you’re saying they don’t care?” he asked incredulously, “because it’s not Seth that has my brothers, they’re just going to let him go?”  
“I doubt that’ll happen,” Devon assured, “Devereux is still a person of interest who may have important Intel concerning the Creeds…”  
“He’s just not our priority,” Haddon conceded.  
Zac took a deep breath as he tried to keep himself calm.  
“You said the bureau,” Zac gave Devon a sideways look.  
“Yeah, the FBI,” he confirmed.  
“Do we know who’s on the Devereux case these days?”  
Haddon and Devon shared a glance.  
“We can’t allow you to leave the premises, Zac,” Devon insisted.  
“I know that,” Zac insisted, “I just want to make sure that someone is tracking that damn car. I want my brothers back!”  
“Andrews himself assured me the car was being traced,” Devon insisted, “how far, I don’t know.”  
Zac sighed frustratedly.  
“Then get me a line with the FBI,” he demanded.


	20. 20

“This is Special Agent Greg Peterson, what can I do for you son?”  
“I want to know the status of the Devereux case,” Zac had his game voice on.  
“And… who are you to ask?”  
“Zac screw-you Hanson. That psycho has my brothers. What are you doing about it?”  
“I knew this would happen sooner or later,” Zac heard the man mutter away from the phone.  
“Excuse me?” Zac demanded.  
“Never mind. Let me check the status on that for you. It’s not the only case we’re working, you know.”  
“Shouldn’t it at least be priority? Considering the military involvement?”  
“The army has been very strict with what we can and cannot be involved in. Ah ha! Here it is. Yes… they turned over the details of the getaway car a few hours ago. We’ll get right on that.”  
“…You weren’t on that before?” Zac’s eyes narrowed, “are you seriously telling me you only just found out about it when it’s been sitting there for hours?!”  
“I already told you we have-“  
“Other cases, yada yada,” Zac scorned, “so tell me. Are you actually going to start tracing this car?”  
There was a moment of silence on the line.  
“You know Mr Hanson, it’s purely a courtesy that I’m speaking with you,” Peterson began matter-of-factly, “I do not need to divulge any information about the case, even if you appear readily involved in it. In fact, some would consider that a conflict of interest.”  
“I find it a conflict of interest that someone who is supposed to be heading the case is acting so blasé about it,” Zac hit back, “I’m sure if I had a word to Sergeant Major Andrews about it he could put in a word with Washington and they could find something more interesting for you to focus your time on.”  
Zac could almost hear the man grinding his teeth.  
“I have nothing to report to you,” he said finally, “what do you want me to say?”  
“I want you to promise me that you will report to me when you do actually get off your ass and find something,” Zac insisted, “and I want you to promise me that you will find them alive. Last time Nate had Taylor it was too close a call.”  
“I can’t promise any of that,” Peterson responded making Zac roll his eyes, “but we will do our best.”  
“You’d better. You have my number,” Zac said before hanging up.  
“Peterson, huh?” Haddon raised an eyebrow.  
“How’d you guess?”  
“He’s a bit like that,” Haddon mused, “tends to bring out the fire in people.”  
“Hopefully some of that fire will be put to good use,” Zac muttered as he came back to sit at the dining table, “they haven’t even _started_ tracking Nate’s car yet.”  
“They probably have,” Haddon assured, “he just didn’t want to tell you they hadn’t found anything.”  
“That’s not what it sounded like,” Zac shook his head.  
He put his head in his hands and scratched it in frustration.  
“I wish I was down there helping,” he grunted.  
“Helping with what exactly?” Haddon shrugged, “what could you do?”  
“Surely a soldier of all people would understand,” Zac smirked, “anything! Anything I could do. Helping go through footage, even… I don’t know. Something other than sitting here.”  
Haddon just nodded and gave him another pat on the back.


	21. 21

Taylor’s eyes slid open the following morning when he heard footsteps in the room. On his side facing the bathroom, he saw a shadow pass as Nate made his way in and closed the door.  
Pushing himself up on the bed, he looked back over to where Nate had slept. The key was still on the bedside table.  
Keeping an eye on the bathroom door, he slid over the other side of the bed and carefully pulled the chain over the covers so that it wouldn’t hit the floorboards and make any noise. When he hit the floor on the other side of the bed he held onto the chain until it was pulled taught, then grabbed onto Nate’s bed and tried to reach as far as he could. The key was about a foot out of reach. Cursing in his head as he heard the toilet flush, he quickly returned to his own bed. The rattle of the chain on the floor would have announced to Nate that he was awake so he didn’t bother to lie down again.  
The bathroom door opened as Taylor hugged his knees, keeping his eyes down.  
“’Morning,” Nate greeted as he stepped out, turning off the light.  
Taylor didn’t respond. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to. He set to waiting as Nate moved around the bed to get the key before disappearing from the room. Confused at not being taken with him, Taylor hesitated for a second before sliding from the bed and heading to the bathroom himself. The chain meant he had to leave the door slightly ajar, so he kept a careful eye over his shoulder as he went about his business.  
When he returned to the room Nate was waiting in the doorway.  
“Put these on,” he threw him the handcuffs, “in front this time.”  
Taylor caught them, and after stretching his arms out slid one of the cuffs around his left wrist. As he secured the right one, Nate indicated for him to put his foot on the bed again. Once the shackle was unlocked, he pulled Taylor from the room.  
“We might need to work out a system where you get up before me,” Nate said thoughtfully as he pulled him toward the kitchen, “this waiting for breakfast thing kinda sucks.”  
He grabbed one of the dining chairs and pulled it into the kitchen, pushing Taylor down onto it.  
“Now let’s learn your way around,” Nate began to instruct.  
Taylor watched as he began to show him where all the utensils and dishes were, and how he stocked the cupboards and refrigerator. When Nate was distracted he’d looked toward the front door a couple of times, but with the duffel so close by he knew he wouldn’t have a chance. When Nate was done he stood back against the counter.  
“Any questions before you get started?” he asked expectantly.  
Taylor hesitated, not expecting to be asked.  
“Yeah…” he began carefully, “can we… I mean, can you take some food to Ike today? He didn’t get anything yesterday.”  
He leant back a little at the look Nate gave him and dropped his eyes to the floor.  
“If you saw him today, would that make you happy?” Nate asked.  
“Yes,” Taylor said immediately, looking up at him again hopefully, “could I? Please?”  
“I need to go and pick up some things for us anyway,” Nate nodded, “so if you go ahead and make us breakfast, I’ll let you take some down for Isaac. Sound good?”  
Taylor nodded insistently.  
“Good. Make a start,” Nate indicated the open kitchen before stepping out.  
He took a seat at the table and set to watching. Taylor awkwardly got to his feet before going to double check exactly what food Nate had with him so he could start preparation.


	22. 22

Taylor’s heart sank a little when he saw the door to the cellar. He’d hoped it would be a simple lock or bolt that they could break through, but an entire beam sat across the door which was also chained shut.  
Nate knelt to unlock it as Taylor stood idly by, holding a plate of food in his still-cuffed hands.  
“Climb down and I’ll pass it to you,” Nate instructed as he struggled to lift the beam aside.  
He opened the door to darkness, but Taylor could just make out the top of a ladder. Nate took the plate from his hands and stood by to wait.  
“Can we have a flashlight or something?” Taylor asked cautiously.  
“There’s a lantern down there, I’ll wait until you get it lit.”  
Taylor nodded, before turning his back and starting the awkward climb down.  
“Tay?” he heard Isaac’s voice rasp.  
He glanced over his shoulder, but unable to see anything he didn’t respond. When he made it to the floor he looked up to see Nate handing him the plate.  
“Go to your right about five feet, there should be a table. Lantern’s on there,” Nate instructed.  
Taylor followed his directions, soon hitting the table with the heel of his hand. He set the plate down before feeling for the lantern and quickly turning it on. The moment the light filled the space, the door above them closed. Taylor waited until he heard the chain go on and Nate’s footsteps leaving before he turned to take in his surroundings.  
Isaac was sitting on the floor against the opposite wall, his hands still tied together.  
“Ike are you okay?” Taylor rushed over, quickly checking his brother’s wrists, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.”  
“I’m okay,” Isaac confirmed with a nod, “I was more worried about you.”  
Taylor grimaced at the state of Isaac’s wrists before taking a quick look around the cellar.  
“We need something to cut that off,” he said, mainly to himself.  
“You’re not afraid of his reaction if you do?”  
“I don’t care Ike, you’re bleeding!”  
Isaac sighed, defeated, as Taylor stood again and began to look around. There was plenty of shelving down there, which suggested Nate had spent at least a good deal of time there and hadn’t just abandoned it, and it appeared to be sectioned off. They were in the main room with what looked like a smaller one through a doorway near the table.  
“I’m gonna check through here,” Taylor indicated the door as he grabbed the plate and took it back to his brother, “here, eat something.”  
“What about you?” Isaac asked.  
“I eat when he eats,” Taylor assured, “it’s yours.”  
“Do you know how long you’ll be down here for?” Isaac was worried they should ration it.  
“Until he gets back I guess. He’s just going to a store,” Taylor shrugged, going to grab the lantern.  
He took it through the doorway, and it was all he could do to stop himself from dropping it.  
“Oh Holy crap,” he hissed under his breath.  
“What?” Isaac looked up, “what is it?”  
Taylor looked back at him with wide eyes.  
“You’re gonna want to see this,” his voice faltered, “but not while you’re trying to eat.”  
He disappeared into the room, leaving Isaac’s curiosity at its peak. He quickly ate a bit more from the plate before setting it aside and following his brother.


	23. 23

“What the…?”  
Taylor jumped as Isaac appeared behind him, looking around the small room.  
“We might find something sharp in here at least?” Taylor said hopefully.  
He held the lantern higher as he stepped further into the room, skirting one of the larger bloodstains on the floor.  
“What is it, a torture chamber?” Isaac looked incredulous as he followed him in.  
“I can’t believe you didn’t smell this,” Taylor was pulling a face as he made his way around the table in the centre.  
Black stains covered it – or what looked like black stains but very well could have been red – and small chains were carelessly draped across it. The wall to Taylor’s left held more steel shelving, and he searched the items on there for anything he could use to free Isaac’s wrists.  
“Guess we know what Nate’s been doing with his spare time,” Isaac moved around to the other side.  
“He’s sure had a lot of that,” Taylor reasoned, swapping hands as his arm began to hurt, “you know he’s been planning this since Reynosa?”  
“Reynosa? Why there?” Isaac frowned.  
“Because I might have told him I’d willingly be his slave,” Taylor admitted.  
“You what? Why?” Isaac froze.  
“He had this doctor. It was when I got sick that time,” Taylor shrugged, “he was going to kill him if I didn’t agree to it.”  
“Did he definitely survive?”  
“I have no idea, he never came out of the woodwork,” Taylor shook his head, “but if I were him? I would have hightailed it across middle America and changed my name. All I know is he was a father of three.”  
Isaac nodded, flinching as he knocked something over.  
“So he wants you as his slave, huh?”  
“Pretty much,” Taylor sighed, “isn’t that what they all want? Lucky me.”  
“So what does he want with me?” Isaac asked absently as he picked up what looked like a large pair of tongs, “or should this room be a big clue to that?”  
“I don’t think so,” Taylor sounded more hopeful than sure, “he told me he only took you because he was sick of being followed. Apparently you were too good at it.”  
Taylor picked up a rusty old handheld saw. He looked it over to check how sturdy it was before taking it over to where Isaac stood.  
“So he left Zac behind instead,” Isaac almost smirked.  
“I don’t know if he meant to,” Taylor set the lantern on the table as he began to cut the tie, “because Seth’s people were definitely there. I think he might have just somehow… I don’t know, swooped in on us as Seth was about to strike. I was cornered by one of Seth’s men when I passed out.”  
“I don’t even remember that far,” Isaac shook his head, “I must have been out before anything started.”  
“He was keeping you tranquilised,” Taylor grunted as he finally cut through.  
Isaac rubbed his wrists as Taylor set the saw aside, then pulled his brother in for a hug.  
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said.  
“Me too,” Taylor agreed, “but we need to get out of this room, or I’m going to be sick.”  
“Amen,” Isaac agreed, letting go of him and heading back out as Taylor grabbed the lantern.


	24. 24

“It feels like we’re in the lair of a serial killer,” Taylor mused some time later.  
The two of them were sitting back against the wall Isaac had been found up against. It felt like Nate had been gone for hours.  
“Well, it is Nathan Devereux,” Isaac pointed out, “who knows how many people he’s actually killed?”  
“Yeah… that doesn’t help,” Taylor smirked, fiddling with the cuff on his left wrist.  
“Are you sure there’s no other way out of here?” Isaac looked around again.  
“There’s no other doors or windows down here,” Taylor shrugged, “so unless there’s a trapdoor up to the main house…”  
The two of them fell silent for a moment as they both studied what they could see of the ceiling. The moment of quiet allowed them to hear the sound of a car pulling up outside.  
“He’s back,” Isaac stated the obvious.  
“Maybe he’ll leave me here for a while,” Taylor was somewhat hopeful.  
“Oh yeah?” Isaac raised an eyebrow as they heard footsteps, “you’re his new plaything. I wouldn’t be so sure.”  
They heard the chain being unlocked and thrown aside.  
“Put your hands together,” Taylor whispered, Isaac immediately doing so in his lap.  
It wouldn’t be enough to fool him if he came down, but if he had a quick look he’d hopefully not notice anything wrong.  
They heard the beam being shoved aside before the door opened.  
“Come on out, Taylor.”  
Taylor gave Isaac a worried look. Isaac just nodded, hoping to reassure him that he’d be okay.  
Taylor sighed and got to his feet, going to collect the plate from the table. He saw Nate waiting above the door and went over to hand the plate to him. Nate took it before reaching down again.  
“Give me your hands,” he instructed.  
Taylor gave Isaac one last glance before reaching upward. Nate took hold of the chain on the cuffs and pulled up, Taylor struggling to find his footing on the ladder but making it up nonetheless. He stood aside as the cellar door was once again closed.  
“Have you decided what you’re going to do with him yet?” Taylor asked worriedly.  
“Maybe letting you spend time with your brother was a bad idea,” Nate finished locking the chain and stood up to look at him, “that was a question.”  
Taylor took a step back when he saw the look in Nate’s eye, but Nate took him by the hair all the same. Taylor cried out as he was pulled back to the house by it, where Nate sat him down on the same chair again. When Taylor saw him going for the duct tape again he immediately stood up.  
“Nate, please!” he exclaimed, “I’m just worried about my brother, that’s all. I didn’t mean anything by it. I didn’t mean to upset you!”  
“And now you’re talking out of turn and defying a direct order. Sit down!” Nate ordered.  
Taylor cringed but took a seat. Nate began wrapping the tape around his waist to hold him to the chair again, not seeming to care about the wound in Taylor’s side this time. He didn’t go up far enough however to hit the ones on his arms. When he was done he opened the new bag sitting on the table and pulled out a bottle of iodine and some bandages.  
Knowing he was at least attempting to help, Taylor said nothing. He watched as Nate readied some tissues with the iodine and set one against the wound on his right arm. Taylor clenched his teeth in an effort not to cry out at the sting. Once Nate had cleaned it up, he quickly bandaged the area.


	25. 25

“Last we saw he was headed for Marshall, Arkansas.”  
“Great. So now what?”  
“Well I don’t like our chances. The amount of national parks out there with labyrinths of dirt tracks is beyond comprehension, so if he banks off into one of them…”  
Zac sighed and hit his head against the receiver.  
“What can you do?” he asked.  
“Keep doing what we’re doing. Just thought I’d give you an update.”  
“Thanks Willis. It’s appreciated.”  
“By the way, Peterson doesn’t know I called.”  
“Thanks,” Zac smirked before hanging up.  
“Any news?” Haddon looked up from the kitchen table where he was having a coffee.  
“Apparently he was heading for Marshall, in Arkansas,” Zac scratched his head as he leant against the wall, “so Arkansas seems to be the go. But they still haven’t found the car.”  
“Bummer.”  
Zac jumped as the phone rang again.  
“Willis?” he asked as he answered it.  
There was silence on the line.  
“Hello?” he asked, giving Haddon a strange look, “is anyone there?”  
Haddon got to his feet just as a familiar boom sounded from the front of the house. Zac immediately hung up and darted toward the living room.  
“Zac! Wait!” Haddon ordered, following.  
Devon had just opened the front door to yet another fireball and backed into the house in recoil. Zac made it to the window in time to see the initial smoke cloud rising up from what used to be his car.  
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he groaned.  
“Zac!” Haddon caught up with him, “get back in the kitchen! He wants your attention and he’s getting it. Don’t fall for it.”  
Zac cursed under his breath and followed Haddon back to the dining room. They’d barely walked in when Haddon’s hand flew to his throat and he collapsed forward.  
“What the?!” Zac exclaimed, jumping backward.  
When he looked up he saw two men wearing black standing in the room. His eyes widened and he bolted.  
“DEVON?!” he yelled, running down the hallway.  
At least one of the men came after him. Zac found the bathroom and shut himself in, leaving his weight against the door just in case. He only felt the first hit as his pursuer tried to break it down before gunfire echoed through the house.  
“Oh Tay’s not gonna be happy about this,” he muttered, picturing the bullet holes in the walls.  
The door was rammed twice more, Zac holding it each time. On the third he suddenly stepped aside. The door came down – the man in black with it – and Zac darted over top of him and back down the hallway. He came face to face with Devon at the end.  
“DROP!” he ordered.  
Zac fell to his stomach on the floor and Devon took the shot. Zac waited until he heard the man hit the floor before he looked up to make sure he was down for good.  
“Seth’s here,” Devon stated the obvious, “come on, we gotta go.”


	26. 26

“There’s another one,” Zac hissed as Devon led him out toward the living room.  
“Are you sure?” Devon asked, rifle at the ready.  
“I saw two. I don’t know if there are more,” Zac admitted.  
Devon made sure the living room was clear before getting on his radio.  
“We’ve got company at the Hansons’,” he called in, “backup request immediate. Dekker are you nearby?”  
“Saw the smoke, we’re on our way from the end of the street. Backup called in already.”  
“Copy that,” Devon confirmed.  
“Where are we gonna go?” Zac frowned.  
“Away from here for a start, the house has been compromised,” Devon insisted, “we’ll get you down to-“  
He cut off as something whizzed through the air. Zac saw the dart in his neck before his hand could reach it.  
“Dammit,” Devon cursed as he pulled it out before it could empty completely, “get outside! Dekker will meet you!”  
Zac looked back to see the second man standing in the hall, reloading the dart gun.  
“Dammit,” he cursed as Devon collapsed, before bolting for the front door.  
He heard the clicks of the dart going into place and the gun being armed. He’d barely made it out the door when it fired and felt the sharp pain in his shoulder.  
He collapsed to his knees as he grappled for it, unable to reach where it was. As he felt himself falling forward on the way to unconsciousness, he looked up to see army boots running toward him.

*

Zac heard voices as he slowly came to. When he realised he didn’t know where he was, he shot up.  
“Whoa, whoa,” someone took him by the arm, “steady there kiddo. You’re fine.”  
Zac rubbed his eyes, finding himself on a couch. Taylor’s couch. He didn’t recognise the person who’d spoken, but they were in uniform. He immediately calmed down.  
“I’m not a kid,” was the first thing he said.  
“Whatever.”  
A groan to the left made Zac turn his head. Haddon was sitting up and rubbing his own eyes.  
“Haddon, you good?”  
Zac looked to the doorway as Devon made an appearance.  
“Zac? You alright?” he asked.  
“I’m good,” Haddon nodded.  
“Yeah I’m good,” Zac returned as well, “what the heck happened?”  
“Creed nearly got you, that’s what happened,” the third soldier in the room informed him.  
“Yeah I get that,” Zac frowned, realising he had a headache, “why didn’t he?”  
“Dekker got here in time,” Devon nodded, “you were pretty lucky. They sent three scouts after you and we got two of them.”  
“What do you mean ‘got’?” Zac was squinting up at him.  
“They’re down for the count, we won’t get anything out of them,” soldier number three said regretfully.  
“So the third got away,” Zac nodded.  
“He was already in the getaway van,” the soldier explained, “we were lucky to get the two we did.”


	27. 27

Nate had been sitting in the opposite chair leaning back against the wall and staring at Taylor for a long time. In the awkward silence Taylor just stared down at the cuffs and used the time to try and think of tools to try and pick the locks with.  
“What does Seth want with you?” Nate asked suddenly, making him jump.  
Taylor’s eyes darted. An interrogation was the last thing he’d expected.  
“I don’t know anymore,” he shook his head, “but when I was with…”  
He paused to clear his throat.  
“When I was with Krüger he wanted to put me through training to become a recruiter.”  
Nate laughed. Considering the last time Taylor had heard him laugh was when he’d cut him with the switchblade it put him on edge.  
“You as a recruiter,” Nate mused as he composed himself, “yeah… I guess I could see that. He’d need to do a lot of work on you though, and I mean a _lot_.”  
“So he said,” Taylor nodded, his face having gone red.  
“It’s not all that bad though,” Nate reasoned, “I mean compared to the alternative. At least as a recruiter you get to have some fun once in a while.”  
“Fun?” Taylor’s brow furrowed as he finally made eye contact, “I don’t see how anyone in their right mind could find any of it fun.”  
“Maybe you’re looking at it wrong,” Nate suggested.  
“What other way is there?”  
Nate sighed, drumming his fingers on the table.   
“When you were in Waco…” he began carefully, knowing it had the potential to be a sore subject, “which did you prefer? Staying in the dark where you were somewhat safe, or going to training just so you could see light for once a day?”  
“What kind of question is that?” Taylor tried to keep the scorn from his voice, “the dark, where I was with Zac.”  
“Right. You had your brother there,” Nate seemed to have forgotten, “okay. Imagine for a moment that you were all alone. Maybe you’d been left alone down there for weeks before they pulled you out for your first training session. Which would you prefer then?”  
“It’s irrelevant because it didn’t happen,” Taylor shrugged, “I wouldn’t know.”  
Nate gave him a condescending look.  
“What do you want me to say?” Taylor asked, worried again now.  
“Nothing,” Nate admitted, “I just want you to understand that people can change under conditions like those, and they can change quite dramatically.”  
Taylor ducked his head, thinking of the grocery store holdup that he and Isaac had witnessed.  
“Sometimes those people are willing to do just about anything to get a small sense of normalcy back into their lives. When you do go through training to become a recruiter, you’ll get pushed to a lot of those limits. I’ve seen kids go to great lengths just to get a decent meal.”  
“Why are you telling me this?” Taylor’s eyes lowered, “if you get your way it’ll never happen, right?”  
“I’m just interested in Seth’s game, that’s all,” Nate shrugged, “I doubt I’ll avoid him forever.”  
“You think he’ll find us?” Taylor looked up worriedly again.  
“He might,” Nate tilted his head slightly, “but I know a trick or two.”  
The statement brought up a memory from the day before, and Taylor frowned.  
“Nate, were you a recruiter?” he suddenly asked.


	28. 28

“I saw your file,” Taylor’s eyes followed Nate as he stood to swap chairs, “I know you went to jail for double murder. The two girls in Ardmore?”  
Nate sighed as he took up the seat beside Taylor and looked him in the eye.  
“Were you supposed to recruit them?” Taylor’s eyes narrowed.  
“I was,” Nate affirmed.  
“Did Seth train you?”  
“No,” Nate scoffed, “Seth’s younger than me, if you hadn’t noticed.”  
“Then what, his predecessors?”   
“Something like that,” Nate looked him up and down.  
“Then why did you kill those girls instead of taking them in?” Taylor frowned.  
“Because sometimes the death penalty is preferential to what your master has in store for you when you return not only empty handed, but having been caught in the act and made to go through interrogation,” Nate’s eyes continued their roaming, “better to be known as a murderer than a slave trader when you return home with your tail between your legs.”  
Taylor’s mind was racing, but he could only concentrate on one part of what Nate had said.  
“You have a master?” his eyebrows rose.  
“I like it when you get passionate about something,” Nate immediately changed the subject, “you zero in like no one I’ve ever met. Reminds me of your speech in Chicago.”  
Taylor turned away, the reminder sending a shiver up his spine.  
“If you focused only a portion of that intensity on what we’re doing here, I can see us doing just fine.”  
“Then what are we doing here?” Taylor turned back, looking tired, “I thought it was self-explanatory.”  
“Maybe it is, and I know we’ve already discussed it though not at length,” Nate shifted slightly, “but I’d like us to come to an understanding where I can let you walk around without having to worry that you’re either going to kill me or at the very least steal my car.”  
Taylor hesitated as he thought that over. He couldn’t say he hadn’t considered either option already.  
“Then it’s all about trust,” he reasoned, “but it’s your trust, not mine. I can’t help you with that.”  
“In any case, I have something arriving tomorrow that might help with your… limited mobility,” Nate shared as he stood from the chair and set it back under the table.  
“What is it?” Taylor asked, eyes following him.  
“You’ll find out,” Nate assured, giving him a pat on the shoulder before making his way into the kitchen.  
When Taylor saw him starting to put together a light lunch, he frowned.  
“Shouldn’t I be doing that for you?” he suggested, really just wanting to get out of the chair again.  
“Not today,” Nate reasoned, “maybe once you’ve done breakfast and dinner a few times. Or maybe once you can move around more without my having to watch you.”  
Taylor just nodded and lowered his head, knowing he wouldn’t be fed this time.   
“Thank you,” he said after a time.  
The comment caused Nate to stop what he was doing and look up curiously.  
“For what?” he frowned.  
“For opening up to me,” Taylor kept his eyes down, “and letting me talk. It’s appreciated.”  
Nate hesitated as he thought it over, before going on with what he was doing in silence.


	29. 29

“Agent Willis,” the agent greeted, reaching over to shake hands with Zac.  
“Zac Hanson,” he nodded, “good to meet you.”  
“Looking for a place to sleep, huh?”  
“Preferably not one that’s going to blow up while I’m in it,” Zac was looking around the Oklahoma City offices as he spoke.  
They seemed secure, but so had the Tulsa station at one point. So had Taylor’s house.  
“I doubt they’ll blow up anything you’re in,” Devon assured him, “the use of darts suggests Creed wants you alive.”  
“Well that’s comforting,” Zac muttered.  
“We’ll do our best,” Willis eyed Devon, looking almost intimidated by his armour, “walk this way.”  
Zac, Devon and Haddon followed Willis through the building, skirting the main offices and heading out back. As they walked past what looked like a bit of a command centre, Zac jumped back into the doorway.  
“Is that footage of Nate’s car?” he demanded, walking into the room and heading for the nearest computer screen.  
“Zac-“ Devon was too late to stop him.  
“We can’t allow you to be in here,” Willis gave Devon a glance as he made it to Zac’s side, “this room is full of confidential information, we can’t have just anyone-“  
“It is, isn’t it?” Zac gave him a glance before returning his eyes to the satellite footage.  
The man who’d been sitting at the computer just looked between them worriedly.  
“How far have you traced it?” Zac demanded of him, “did they go to Marshall?”  
“Uh…” the man looked to Willis for help.  
“Zac, please,” Willis took him by the shoulder, “let us do our jobs. You’ll only slow him down.”  
“Then give me something to do to help!” Zac exclaimed, “if I’m here I might as well be helping, right?!”  
“Zac, man, come on,” Haddon took him by the shirt and pulled him from the room.  
“Haddon!” Zac knew he wouldn’t stand a chance at fighting him off, so he let him drag him out to the hallway.   
Once outside he stood back against a wall.  
“Calm down,” Haddon ordered as Devon and Willis followed them out, “you’re here for protection only, not to get involved in the case.”  
“I need to be involved in the case,” Zac reiterated, “put yourself in my shoes. This is the first time in a long line of this crap happening that I’ve actually been able to do something about it. And all I can see is that you guys are stopping me.”  
Haddon looked over at Devon for help.  
“Zac you of all people know that Nathan Devereux isn’t someone to screw with,” Devon stepped up, “maybe it’s not only Creed the FBI need to protect you from?”  
“Nate doesn’t want me,” Zac said between his teeth, “how many times do I have to tell you? He has what he wants, he has Taylor. He’s probably got him hidden away somewhere with no intention of coming up for air ever again.”  
“Fair enough,” Devon relented, “but maybe we can’t just take your word for it.”  
Zac just glared.  
“Come on, let’s get you out back,” Haddon insisted, “don’t make me carry you.”


	30. 30

“Where did you get the cuffs?” Taylor asked, looking across at where Nate was again sitting on the couch, “you’ve never used cuffs before. Did you kill another cop?”  
“I’m not a homicidal maniac Taylor,” Nate scorned, not bothering to turn around, “every good porn store has handcuffs. I went shopping.”  
“Oh God,” Taylor rolled his eyes, knowing he shouldn’t have asked.  
“Want to see?” Nate offered.  
“No! No,” Taylor assured, trying to shift in his seat.  
Nate just chuckled to himself before taking another swig of his beer.  
“Krüger never assaulted you, did he?”  
“Not in any way he didn’t deem necessary at the time,” Taylor admitted straight off, “but Seth tried to.”  
Nate hesitated, taking a moment to comprehend his wording.  
“Seth’s just a prick. What did Krüger do?” he looked to the left.  
“You want me to tell you how Krüger assaulted me?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “why?”  
“Because I’m bored,” Nate said simply, “and I want to know what personal boundaries have already been crossed, and what haven’t.”  
“Why?” Taylor frowned, “planning to go somewhere he didn’t?”  
“What if I am?” Nate smirked, “what are you going to do about it?”  
Taylor tried not to make a sound as he struggled against the tape again. There was too much of it.  
When Nate realised he wasn’t replying, he set his beer aside and stood from the couch. Taylor watched as he made his way over, cringing and leaning back as Nate put his hands on his thighs and leant in to him.  
“Relax, Taylor,” Nate’s voice lowered in his ear.  
Taylor held his breath as he waited for whatever Nate was going to do. After a tense ten seconds or so, Nate smirked.  
“I’m not gay,” he scorned, letting him go and standing up again before ruffling Taylor’s hair, “and I know how to pick up girls when I want to. You’ve got nothing to worry about from me.”  
“Then why is it so important?” Taylor grunted as he struggled to compose himself again.  
“It’s not important,” Nate shrugged, “but it’s a good indicator at whether or not you’re at a point of submissiveness where I don’t have to beat an answer out of you.”  
Taylor froze at that. Nate wasn’t moving, which was a good sign, but he was now paying more attention regardless. He seemed to be waiting.  
“Look, I was wearing a straightjacket,” Taylor finally admitted, “I had to go to the bathroom. That was all.”  
“Okay,” Nate nodded, “ew, but okay.”  
He grabbed the switchblade from the table and flicked it open before going to slice Taylor free from the tape.  
“In any case, it’s about time for dinner,” he said as he pulled the tape away.  
Taylor turned to the window. He hadn’t even noticed the sun going down.  
“Anything in particular you want?” Taylor asked.  
“No,” Nate pulled him up.  
“Will Ike get any?” he asked, stepping toward the kitchen.  
“I think that’s enough questions for today.”


	31. 31

Zac lay with his eyes open long after he’d ‘retired to bed’. The FBI didn’t really have bunking facilities so he, Haddon and Devon had taken refuge in a long-since-used holding cell.  
When he was sure the two soldiers had fallen asleep, he carefully slid out from under the covers.  
Carefully skirting the two soldiers on the floor, he slipped out of the room without a sound. Once he was in the hallway he headed straight for the command room he’d seen earlier.  
Most of the agents had gone home for the night and the room was now empty. Heading straight for the computer he remembered seeing the footage of Nate’s car on, he quickly started it up and began praying that it wasn’t password protected. He held back the exclamation of joy when he found it wasn’t.  
Not sure what sort of programs they used for surveillance, Zac did a quick search of the computer for anything related to Nathan Devereux. When too much information suddenly cropped up, he went through to ascertain which programs had been used most often in relation to the name, and soon opened something that appeared linked to some satellite footage.  
Some footage hit the screen which appeared to lie just west of Marshall. When he found what looked like a road cutting through the trees he managed to zoom in. All he could see was a dirt track with possible tyre marks through it.  
“What am I looking for?” he whispered to himself, starting to follow the track out.  
“FREEZE!”  
Zac dropped the mouse from the desk as he jumped in fright.  
“Holy crap,” he breathed, holding his hands out where they could be seen.  
“What are you doing in here?” the gruff voice demanded as Zac heard footsteps outside.  
“Just looking?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Get up.”  
Zac carefully stood, taking a glance to the side.  
“Peterson?” he scowled, “what the Hell?”  
Peterson stepped forward and locked a handcuff onto Zac’s right wrist, pulling his arms behind and securing them both.  
“I was just trying to find something-“  
“You’ll find something alright, the inside of a jail cell.”  
“What?!”  
“Zac, what the heck?!” Devon’s voice came from the doorway.  
“Caught him going through the computers,” Peterson informed Devon as he attempted to drag Zac from the room.  
Zac dug his feet in.  
“Devon!” he fretted, “I was just trying to find something on Tay. You know what I was doing!”  
“Zac you compromised some highly confidential equipment,” Devon shook his head, “I can’t help you here.”  
Zac grunted as Peterson pulled him out into the hall, taking him back down to where Haddon stood outside the doorway of the holding cell.  
“You boys got anything important in there?” Peterson demanded.  
“No,” Haddon frowned, “what happened?”  
Peterson shoved Zac inside and closed and locked the door.  
“Consider this one a threat to security. Watch him,” Peterson scorned, turning to walk away.


	32. 32

“Zac, what the heck did you do?” Haddon called through the door.  
“I just went back to the computer room to see if I could find the car, that’s all,” Zac shook his head just on the other side, “do I _really_ need to be in cuffs?! He knows I’m not going anywhere.”  
“You brought it on yourself,” Haddon reasoned, “what did you think was gonna happen?”  
“I don’t know,” Zac rolled his eyes, “I just get so tired of waiting. No one’s telling me anything.”  
“It’s barely been two days,” Haddon frowned, “you can’t expect everything to happen at once. It took us a week to find you in Alaska.”  
“That was Alaska,” Zac scorned, “Marshall’s not even four hundred miles away.”  
“So close and yet so far?”  
Zac hesitated.  
“Ike used to say that,” he said finally, “it always felt that way when we were following leads on Tay.”  
Haddon didn’t know what to say to that.  
“This sucks,” Zac sighed, hitting his head back against the door, “why did Krüger have to kill so many people? If I had just one person who worked the last case, just _one_ , this would be a whole other ball game. If only Carlson was here. Or Gorman… who I never met. Or Rick.”  
“I’m sorry man,” Haddon offered from the other side as Zac trailed off.  
Zac had frowned in thought. His eyes darting, he slowly stood upright.  
“Maybe there is someone,” he said suddenly.  
“Who?” Haddon frowned, “someone who survived the Tulsa explosions?”  
“In a manner of speaking,” Zac turned to the window in the door.  
He could see Haddon’s back to him as he leant against it.  
“Can you get me to see Davison?” he asked.  
“Davison?” Haddon’s head turned, “are you kidding?”  
“Do I sound like I’m kidding?” Zac scorned, “he’s the only one who’s been there the whole time. He was there when Nate first broke out of OSP.”  
“He probably helped,” Haddon scorned.  
“He was helping us track down Tay. He’s gotta know something about what’s going on,” Zac insisted.  
“Zac, you screwed up,” Haddon turned to the window, “I can’t get you out of here, for anything. And Andrews ordered that you stay here.”  
“So get me a phone,” Zac suggested, “I could talk to him on the phone, right?”  
“Are you sure you want to?” Haddon sighed, “do you really think he’s going to give you anything he didn’t give his interrogators already?”  
“Who interrogated him?” Zac asked.  
“In relation to the trafficking case involving the Creeds? We did.”  
“So what did you ask him?” Zac shrugged, “anything related to Nate?”  
“We didn’t need to,” Haddon frowned, not sure if he knew where Zac was going or not, “Nate isn’t directly related to the Creeds.”  
“That you know of,” Zac pointed out, “but he sure got involved in the process somehow. Especially to be able to bring in people like us and make us disappear.”  
Haddon hesitated. Zac decided to jump on his doubt.  
“Let me talk to him,” Zac insisted, “I’ll find out. If I don’t, then it didn’t hurt to try.”  
Haddon grit his teeth, then picked up his radio.  
“Let me check with Andrews,” he held up a finger, “no guarantees, okay?”


	33. 33

Taylor’s eyes slid open sometime during the night. He could hear Nate fast asleep in the other bed behind him.  
He carefully pushed himself up on the bed, looking over his shoulder to make sure Nate was out. The key to the shackle on his ankle was in clear view back on the opposite night stand. Taunting him. He knew he’d have no hope of reaching it without waking Nate.  
Holding back a dejected sigh, he sat up further and carefully tried to gather up the chain. He watched Nate carefully to make sure the metallic sound wouldn’t wake him, before he slid from the bed and carried the chain as far as it would go toward the bathroom. Setting it on the floorboards so that it made minimal sound, he closed the door as far as he could before he turned on the light.  
Rubbing his eyes as they took their time to adjust, he made his way to the cabinets and began to quickly look through what Nate had added to the stock.  
The iodine and bandages he’d used most recently were at the front of the pile, but when Taylor dug through he soon came to a small first aid kit. Popping it open he quickly rummaged through, looking for scissors, needles, or even some drugs he might be able to put in Nate’s food. The closest thing he found was a pair of small medical scissors – flat on one side.  
“Damn,” he said under his breath, setting it aside.  
He continued looking through the cupboard – Nate must have had months’ worth of toiletries stocked up – until he froze as he heard the door creak behind him.  
“What are you doing?” came Nate’s tired voice.  
Taylor closed his eyes as he raced for an answer. He came up with one surprisingly fast.  
“I need a band aid or something,” he resisted the urge to turn around in case Nate caught the lie in his face.  
“What for?” he could hear the frown in Nate’s voice.  
Taylor rolled his eyes while Nate still couldn’t see them before he leant on the sink to pull himself up. Turning slightly he lifted his shirt to the wound Nate had inflicted with the switchblade.  
“It was bleeding again,” he meant it to be a lie, but found that it had actually stained the shirt a little red recently.  
“Damn, I’m sorry,” Nate shook his head.  
Taylor stood back as he came into the bathroom.  
“I forgot about that one.”  
Taylor waited as Nate went through the cupboard, pulling out the first aid kit and relinquishing it of a band aid. He also took the iodine and put some on a tissue before turning to apply it to the wound.  
Taylor flinched but didn’t make a sound. He just stood holding his shirt up as Nate worked. When he was done he set the bandage on and began packing up.  
“Get back to bed,” he said tiredly, getting up from where he’d knelt to leave the bathroom.  
“In a minute,” Taylor indicated the toilet.  
Nate hesitated, then nodded and closed the door on the chain behind him. Taylor waited until he heard his footsteps move around the bed before sighing in relief. He’d been careful to be quiet, so what had woken Nate up?  
Sitting on the closed toilet, he eyed off the shackle once again. It was locked with a simple padlock, which meant he needed something the size of a pin to even attempt trying to pick it. Not for the first time did he regret not learning how to pick locks the second he’d gotten home last time.  
Knowing Nate would be lying awake waiting, he quickly pulled himself together and finished up.


	34. 34

As Taylor was about to start washing the dishes from breakfast (and wondering how he could convince Nate to take Isaac some more food), a noise from the other side of the room made him jump. Nate shot to his feet and made his way to a backpack that had been there when Taylor had arrived, quickly fossicking through and suddenly coming out with a satellite phone. Taylor’s eyes widened when he saw it. If only he’d known that was there…  
“Hello?” Nate answered the call.  
Taylor listened intently, trying to tell who would be calling him. Knowing Nate was keeping one eye on him though he continued with his task.  
“Yeah that’s me. Where are you now?”  
Taylor frowned, suddenly getting a horrible feeling in his gut that it might be Trent. He hadn’t heard anything on the man since he’d been transferred to Oklahoma State the year before, but if Nate had gotten out of ADMAX somehow… anything was possible.  
“Uh huh. I know it’s a trek, but that’s what I paid for. Just continue down the track and you’ll come to a house with a red car out front. We’ll be here. You won’t get lost, it’s a one-way road.”  
Taylor looked over his shoulder at the use of the word ‘we’ll’. Nate finished up and hung up, returning the phone to the bag. He was smiling.  
“Someone’s coming?” Taylor assumed, eyeing the front door.  
Nate offered no explanation.  
It took around half an hour after the call came through before they could hear a soft rumble in the distance. In the meantime Taylor had convinced Nate to promise him that Isaac would be fed soon.  
“Sit down,” Nate ordered, indicating the couch as he made his way to the door.  
Taylor obeyed, eyeing the backpack and wondering if Nate would be distracted long enough for him to make a break for the phone.  
Nate stood in the doorway and watched as Taylor could hear a car door open and shut. He did a double take when he heard a female voice.  
“Sorry about that,” Nate mused, not moving from the door, “but believe me, it’s appreciated.”  
“I’ll just need you to sign here…” Taylor heard the girl’s voice as she stepped up onto the porch.  
“Sure thing. Come on inside while I get it sorted,” Nate offered, taking the package and bringing it in.  
Taylor’s eyes followed him worriedly, wondering why he would invite anyone inside. Nate set the parcel on the dining table as the courier followed him in, holding her clipboard out. When she spotted Taylor she offered a fake smile in greeting. He didn’t return it.  
Nate took the clipboard and started scribbling away.  
“So you guys like… living off the land or something?” the girl was looking around with interest.  
“Something like that,” Nate smirked, handing the clipboard back, “thanks for taking the drive.”  
“It wasn’t all bad,” the girl shrugged, “see you next time.”  
She turned to leave the cabin. She’d taken two steps before Taylor saw Nate pull one of the tranquilisers from his jacket and step toward her.  
“Nate no!” Taylor exclaimed, jumping up and causing the girl to turn around.  
She squealed as Nate grabbed her, but the distraction meant that Nate dropped the sedative. With a glare in Taylor’s direction, he slapped a hand over her mouth and twisted an arm behind her back with the other.  
“You stay there!” he ordered before dragging the struggling girl toward the bedroom.  
Taylor grit his teeth, knowing he couldn’t help with his hands cuffed anyway.


	35. 35

The next time Taylor saw Nate he was leaving the bedroom with fire in his eyes. He was opening and closing the switchblade. Taylor could still hear the girl’s muffled screams from the room over, though they were dying down.  
“Nate, what are you doing?” Taylor’s eyes were wide, “this is insane! People are going to come looking for her!”  
“Relax, no one knows where she is,” Nate scoffed, “the address wasn’t specific. In fact I don’t think we technically have an address.”  
“Why?” Taylor’s eyes followed Nate as he went over to the package, though he didn’t move because he’d been ordered not to, “why are you taking her? What do you want with her?”  
Nate smirked and flipped the blade open again, using it to cut the box open.  
“Maybe she’ll liven things up around here for a while,” he said absently, more focused on the task at hand.  
He reached into the box and pulled out something wrapped in brown paper. As he worked to unwrap it, Taylor shook his head.  
“And then what?” he asked, “what happens when-“  
Taylor cut himself off as the paper fell away. His face lost colour at the sight of the steel collar Nate was now studying.  
“Nate… no,” he began shaking his head.  
Nate turned, an eyebrow raised in surprise.  
“No what?” he asked.  
“Please don’t put that on me,” Taylor’s voice broke.  
He took a step back as Nate slowly began to make his way over, his eyes now fixated on Taylor.  
“Why not?” he asked in a deeper tone.  
Taylor hit the couch as he backed off further, knowing he was cornered. He fell back into a sit, but pushed himself up further with his feet.  
“I don’t want to go back there again,” he shook his head, eyes locked to where Nate had opened the clasp already.  
Nate came to rest in front of him when he realised he wasn’t going to move further. His fingertips traced the edge of the steel as he stared down at him.  
“Wearing a collar is a significant gesture of your status,” he looked almost confused, “I should think you’d be used to it by now.”  
“Used to it?” Taylor’s brow furrowed, “how can-“  
He cut off again as Nate began to reach forward. He pushed himself further back up onto the chair until he was in a crouching position. Nate paused in his advance.  
“Taylor, sit down,” he ordered.  
Taylor gulped, knowing it was an order. With the girl’s cries from the next room still in his ears, he slid back down until he was sitting. Nate pulled the collar apart and Taylor could feel himself shaking.  
“Take it without protest, and I’ll reward you,” Nate promised.  
“How?” Taylor cringed as his voice croaked on the single word.  
“Does it matter?” Nate’s eyebrows rose.  
Taylor eyed the collar for a long time, and then finally closed his eyes. Not without clenching his fists.  
Nate took the moment to lean forward and snap the collar around his neck.  
“Good boy,” he said softly, before suddenly taking hold of the ring and pulling Taylor to his feet by it.


	36. 36

Already taken aback at the weight of the steel around his neck, Taylor barely had a chance to find his footing.  
“Now, before I set up the chain…” Nate began thoughtfully as he pulled out the key to Taylor’s handcuffs, “I’ll let you have some play time.”  
“What do you mean?” Taylor asked, blinking away some stubborn tears as Nate began to unlock the cuffs.  
Nate didn’t reply. When he had the cuffs off he threw them onto the couch before looping his finger through the ring on the collar again and leading Taylor toward the bedroom door. Taylor faltered at the sight inside the bedroom.  
The girl had been restrained on his bed, her wrists held to the bedhead with cable ties and her feet wound with the chain of the shackle which at least remained unlocked. Her cut clothes sat in a pile beside the bed which left her in her underwear, and she’d been gagged with Nate’s signature duct tape.  
“What are you doing?” Taylor looked to Nate with fright in his eyes.  
“I’m giving her to you,” Nate indicated the girl, whose mascara and eyeliner was running with her tears, “consider her a welcome gift. You haven’t been doing too badly so far, and I’d like to give you a little something to… I don’t know, boost morale a bit. You can’t deny you’ve been moping.”  
Taylor’s jaw almost hit the floor.  
“What?” was all he could get out.  
“You can… do what you will with her,” Nate shrugged as he looked her over, “just don’t take too long. I’ll still expect you to make dinner for us.”  
Taylor would have put his hands on his head in disbelief, but Nate still had hold of the ring in the collar.   
“You expect me to rape her?” he looked at him incredulously.  
Nate seemed to consider the wording.  
“Call it what you will,” he settled finally, “I just want you to get something out of it. Maybe in a few days – if you’ve both behaved – we can start training her. Together.”  
Taylor felt like he was going to be sick. The girls’ eyes were darting between the two of them fearfully. Taylor couldn’t imagine how she felt.  
“Do we have an understanding?” Nate suddenly tugged on the collar, looking Taylor in the eye, “you don’t try anything, and you don’t let her swindle you. You should know how to handle it by now.”  
Taylor didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing.  
“Taylor?” he almost growled.  
“Okay, okay,” Taylor breathed, his eyes lowering in defeat.  
“Good,” Nate spared the girl another glance, “try not to make too much of a mess, yeah?”  
Taylor closed his eyes as Nate finally let the collar go before rubbing his neck where the metal had been pressing down.  
He opened them again when he heard the bedroom door closing, realising Nate had gone out and locked him in with her. He waited until he heard Nate’s footsteps at least heading for the kitchen before making eye contact with the girl again. She looked absolutely terrified.  
This was exactly what he’d told Krüger he didn’t want to do.  
Trying to pull himself together enough to come up with some sort of plan, he quickly made his way to the bathroom and shut himself in where he didn’t have to even look at her.


	37. 37

Taylor took a few deep breaths as he stood back against the bathroom door, trying to get his head around what was happening. As he opened his eyes again, they fell on the bathroom window. It was high up and far too small for him to get through, but the delivery girl was a lot smaller than he was…  
He immediately ducked down to the cabinet and pulled out the first aid kit, going through it to pull out the medical scissors. Object achieved he opened the bathroom door and made his way over to the girl. She started screaming, muffled by the tape.  
“Shh!” Taylor hushed, “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m not _going_ to hurt you.”  
He waited until she calmed somewhat before looking over toward the door. He didn’t like the chances of Nate simply being on the other side and listening in.  
“Will you be quiet?” he asked hopefully, turning back to her.  
She nodded her head insistently. Taylor hesitated, not sure if he believed her, before he carefully removed the tape from her mouth. She took a few deep breaths as she began to cry again.  
“My name’s Taylor,” he said softly.  
“I know,” she choked out, “please don’t hurt me. Please don’t let him hurt me!”  
“Shh,” Taylor hushed again, worried that her rising voice would alert Nate, “just bear with me.”  
He showed her the scissors so she’d know what he was doing before he got to work on the cable ties around her wrists. She began taking deeper breaths to try and calm herself down.  
“What’s your name?” Taylor asked, trying to distract her.  
“Connie,” she whispered, panting as she waited.  
“Connie?” Taylor seemed to consider, trying to look normal on the outside while he panicked on the inside, “I would have pegged you as more of a… Rachel or Samantha or something.”  
She didn’t reply. A moment later he had the first tie broken and had begun on the next. She used her hand to wipe her face before attempting to cover her cleavage somewhat.  
“Where are the keys to your car, Connie?” Taylor asked softly.  
“In it,” she gulped slightly.  
“Good,” Taylor breathed a sigh of relief.  
He got the second tie undone and quickly scooted down to unwind her ankles. Careful not to let the chain hit the floor, he set it on the bed when he was done. Connie sat up and folded her arms.  
“Come with me,” Taylor nodded to the bathroom.  
Connie looked like she was going to protest, but stood and followed him in. He quickly went through the cupboards again and pulled out a button-down shirt which he handed over.  
“Put this on,” he instructed.  
She quickly did so as he closed up the cupboards again and then made his way to the toilet. He closed the wooden lid and stood up on it, just managing to see out the small window. Once Connie had the shirt on she looked up at him curiously before he offered her a hand.  
“Come on,” he nodded.  
Connie gulped again before taking his hand. He slid the screen across and opened the glass panel before helping her up. She struggled to get through, but she did indeed fit. Taylor held back any celebration in order to focus on getting her out. When she jumped down she looked back.  
“Thank you,” she whispered.  
“Go!” Taylor hissed.  
He saw her run off to the side – out of sight – before a sudden gunshot echoed through the trees.  
“NO!” Taylor screamed out, trying to see where she’d gone.


	38. 38

Taylor was sitting on the toilet with his head in his hands when the bathroom door opened. He’d stayed in there after the gunshot, and heard Nate dragging the body away. It had taken possibly another ten minutes or so before Nate had come looking for him.  
Without looking up, Taylor leant his chin on his fists instead.  
“I thought we agreed you weren’t going to try anything?” was Nate’s introduction.  
Taylor felt one of his eyes twitching. He knew he was going to be in trouble regardless, and he was at the point of barely caring.  
“Words cannot describe how much I hate you,” he said softly.  
The moment of silence that followed was tense. Nate broke it by stepping into the bathroom.  
“Hate. This is good,” he said decidedly, “talking about our feelings. It’s healthy.”  
“You’ve single-handedly ruined our lives,” Taylor went on, not moving, “why couldn’t you leave well-enough alone?”  
Nate set something on the counter and Taylor’s eyes rose to it. He frowned when he saw that it was Krüger’s pistol.  
“Where did you get that?” he looked to Nate worriedly.  
“You had it with you when I pulled you from the studio,” Nate tilted his head, staring at the gun, “turns out it came in handy. If not for anything else but to implicate you.”  
Taylor’s eyes shot up to Nate.  
“No one’s going to believe I killed her,” he said straight out.  
“Won’t they?” Nate’s eyebrows rose, indicating to Taylor that he was obviously wearing gloves, “I’d like to take a wild guess and say that your prints are the only ones on this gun.”  
“But everyone knows you’re holding me against my will!” Taylor exclaimed, “it wouldn’t make sense for me to help her escape and then shoot her!”  
“In any case,” Nate brushed off, “she’ll probably never be found. But since you were at least responsible for her death - you can’t deny that at least - you can be the one to bury her.”  
Taylor clenched his teeth and looked away, feeling his eyes welling up again.  
“Go screw yourself,” he said under his breath.  
“Excuse me?” Nate demanded.  
“You heard me,” Taylor gulped slightly, “just leave me alone.”  
“No can do,” Nate stepped forward.  
Taylor leant back but he had nowhere to go. Nate took hold of the ring in the collar again.   
“See this?” Nate gave it a tug, “it means you’re mine. And leaving you alone is the last thing I want to do right now.”  
Taylor suddenly grabbed hold of Nate’s wrist, hitting a pressure point and forcing him to let go of the collar. Nate hissed as he took a step back, shaking out his hand.  
“Where did you learn to do that?” he asked in surprise.  
Taylor just stood up with his eyes on Nate, ready to ward off another advance. When he didn’t reply to the question, Nate sighed and reached into his jacket.  
“I didn’t want to have to do this,” he said as he pulled out a tranquiliser.  
Taylor’s eyes fell to it and he began backing off as far as he could go, stepping slightly to the left. As Nate came forward he practically fell into the shower, ripping half the shower curtain down with him. As Nate came down on top of him Taylor let out a yelp and struggled to fend him off, but the end result was the same. The needle went into his leg and Nate depressed the plunger.


	39. 39

“Sure this is a good idea?” Haddon’s eyebrows rose.  
“Just try and stop me,” Zac scorned.  
“No thank you.”  
Haddon handed Zac the phone. His hands had been cuffed in front of him the night before when he’d complained that he couldn’t sleep, but he’d spent the rest of his time at the FBI still locked in the holding cell.  
Putting the phone to his ear, Zac waited for confirmation that someone was on the other end.  
“Anyone there?”  
“Davison?” Zac frowned.  
There was a pause.  
“They didn’t tell me who I’d be speaking to,” Davison’s voice came through, “just that it was important.”  
“I’d say it’s pretty important,” Zac said blandly, “do you know what’s happened?”  
“No,” Davison admitted, “but I guess Seth’s involved?”  
“Close. Nate, actually.”  
There was another pause on the line.  
“I can’t offer you anything on Nate, Zac.”  
“You’re lying,” Zac insisted, “or we’ve overestimated your involvement. You guys are all caught up in this web somehow, so I _know_ you know something.”  
“Nate went off the rails,” Davison sighed, “when he came to the OSP he was practically blacklisted by the Creeds. They didn’t want anything to do with him. Apparently his way of handling that was to become insanely obsessive over getting his own slave, in the form of your brother. The guy is mentally unstable, so no, I wasn’t lying. I simply can’t help you when it comes to him. He’s too unpredictable.”  
Zac hesitated, unsure of how much he should say to the man. He’d never really formed as much of a friendship with him as say Isaac had, but he’d always had a certain amount of respect for him until those six months earlier.  
“Davison, he’s got both of them,” Zac admitted, looking up at Haddon who remained standing over him, “he’s got Tay _and_ Ike.”  
“Why?” Davison sounded confused, “he’s never shown interest in Ike before.”  
“We don’t know. Until Seth contacted me personally we thought he’d taken them,” Zac shook his head, “so we have no idea why he wouldn’t just leave Ike behind.”  
“Ike did build himself a bit of a reputation over the years,” Davison seemed to offer, “it was probably only a matter of time before it caught up with him. As much as I did hinder the process at times, he was always good at tracking you boys down.”  
“Here’s hoping I’m half as good,” Zac almost ran his fingers through his hair, but stopped himself when he felt the pull of the handcuffs.  
“I am sorry I can’t help more,” Davison’s voice did at least sound regretful, “if I think of anything I will try and get through to you. I hope you find them before Seth does.”  
“That almost sounded genuine,” Zac’s eyes narrowed.  
“It was. Goodbye Zac, and good luck.”  
“Yeah, you too,” Zac sighed, before ending the call.  
Sighing dejectedly, he handed the phone back to Haddon.


	40. 40

Taylor rolled his head to the side as he began to come to. He immediately felt the cable ties around his wrists, being held back above his head. At first he assumed he was on his bed in a similar position to what Connie had been, but he soon realised he was on something a lot harder.  
The smell soon gave away exactly where he was.  
“Oh no,” his voice croaked.  
“Tay?” he heard Isaac’s voice to his right.  
He turned his head but couldn’t see anything. At first thinking it was just because they were down there in the dark again, he gulped when he realised he was wearing a blindfold.  
“Where is he?” he asked softly.  
“He didn’t want to wait for you to wake up. But he’ll be back,” Isaac sounded worried.  
“Ike…?”  
“I can’t reach you Tay,” Isaac sounded emotional, “there’s a cage door here we didn’t see before. Not to mention a light switch. You’re locked in.”  
Taylor tried to pull on his wrists but they were far too secure. As he tried pulling on his ankles instead, he suddenly realised he was shirtless and barefoot. His ankles were being held down with some kind of strapping, and he could just feel the end of the table underneath his bare heels.  
“What happened?” Isaac asked as Taylor tested the strength of the straps.  
“You don’t wanna know,” Taylor assured.  
He soon gave up on his ankles and started trying to move the blindfold with his arm. It was tied so tight he was surprised he hadn’t felt it straight away.  
“I thought I heard a gunshot.”  
“You did,” Taylor wasn’t going to lie, “he’s got Krüger’s gun.”  
“Damn. I take it you didn’t get him then.”  
“I wasn’t the one firing,” Taylor’s voice faltered again, “Nate shot-“  
Taylor cut off and jumped as he heard the cellar door opening. He heard Isaac’s footsteps step away from the doorway and Nate’s begin to climb down.  
“Nate, what are you doing?” Isaac demanded, “you don’t think you’ve hurt him enough already?!”  
“Stay out of this Isaac,” Taylor heard Nate return, and he did not sound happy.   
Taylor pulled on his wrists again as he heard a chain being undone, then the sound of metal sliding over metal as the door Isaac had mentioned slid open and closed. The chain was redone – Taylor figured so that Isaac couldn’t follow him – and Taylor heard his footsteps draw closer to the table.  
He jumped again when he heard something metallic hit the table beside his chest.  
“Nate…?”  
“Shh…” Nate hushed him, running his hand gently down Taylor’s left arm.  
Taylor hissed through his teeth as he felt the goose bumps creep down his arm and onto his neck.  
“Nate please…” he tried again, “please don’t do this. I’m sorry.”  
“You’re sorry?” Nate sounded interested, “I should hope so.”  
“What are you doing?” Isaac suddenly asked again, as Taylor heard a horrible rasping sound, “you can’t do this, it’s torture!”  
“There’s a fine line sometimes between torture and discipline,” Nate seemed to consider, “but I wouldn’t expect you to understand the finer nuances of either.”  
There was a tense moment of silence before Isaac suddenly yelled out and Taylor felt an icy pain slice into his hip.


	41. 41

Isaac covered his mouth with his hands, feeling like he was going to be sick at the sight of the dagger Nate had left lodged in Taylor’s side. He couldn’t see the blood from his angle, but he could only imagine.  
“Nate?!” Taylor cried out, not entirely sure of what had happened.  
“Tay stay still!” Isaac’s voice broke before he had to turn away.  
Nate spared Isaac a glance as he wiped some blood from the table, before curling his fingers around the blade and slowly pulling it out. Taylor buckled as far as his body would bend as he put two and two together on what Nate was actually doing.  
“Oh my God,” he cried softly, before turning his head and clenching his teeth.  
“Tay hold on!” Isaac called back, still not able to look again yet.  
“Nate, please,” Taylor panted a little, “if you hurt me I can’t help you.”  
“Help me?” Nate looked curious, “why would I need help?”  
Taylor cringed, letting out a short groan through his teeth as moving his left leg sent a shock of pain down his side again.  
“Serve!” he relented, “I can’t serve you then.”  
“I think you’ll find you’re mistaken,” Nate seemed to consider, “but you’ve always underestimated yourself.”  
“Nate I can’t-“  
Taylor cut off and yelled out again as he felt the blade cut into the left side of his chest, just lightly.  
“Hold on Tay,” Isaac tried to reassure him, “he can’t keep this up forever.”  
“Can’t I?” Nate’s eyebrows rose as Isaac turned back and made eye contact.  
Nate let the blade caress Taylor’s chest for a moment, before letting it make an angled slit just above his left nipple. Taylor cried out again.  
“Nate, I know the last thing you want is for him to bleed to death,” Isaac grabbed onto the wire in the door separating the two rooms with his cuffed hands, “you have to stop this.”  
“The two of you are unbelievable,” Nate suddenly rolled his eyes before holding up the dagger, “you’ve been down here for days, in cuffs. Taylor can’t even move and he’s bleeding everywhere-“  
Taylor gulped a little at that, though he could feel it for himself.  
“-And yet here you both are, still trying to tell me what to do.”  
“I wasn’t-“ Taylor started to try and pacify him before Nate slapped a hand over his mouth.  
He tried to twist his head away but Nate held him firm.  
“That’s not what we’re trying to do,” Isaac eyed his brother worriedly, not having had as much experience as he had with trying to calm Nate down, “but the madness needs to stop. We can’t fight you, you’ve made that very clear. What you’re doing now is unnecessary. He’s obviously sorry for whatever he did.”  
Nate’s eyes shifted from Isaac to Taylor before he took his hand away from Taylor’s mouth. Taylor bit his lip as he held back another groan.  
“You haven’t told him yet, have you?” he asked.  
Taylor wasn’t sure if he was talking to him or not, so he remained silent.  
“I don’t care,” Isaac shook his head, “you just need to stop punishing him for it.”  
“Tell Isaac what you were responsible for,” Nate trailed a finger along the edge of the collar.  
Taylor took a deep breath, already knowing that arguing his wording wasn’t going to be worth it.  
“I killed someone,” his voice broke as he turned his head again.


	42. 42

“I don’t believe it Tay,” Isaac shook his head.  
Taylor felt tears soaking into the blindfold and knew that Nate would see them.  
“Oh believe it,” Nate assured, “and here I was trying to offer him something for being good…”  
Isaac’s eyes narrowed as Nate slid the blade under the skin on Taylor’s stomach, close to the initial stab wound. Taylor let out another cry before Nate put a hand on his forehead making him stop.  
“Please stop,” he almost whimpered instead, “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry. If I could go back I would.”  
“I’d bet anything that Tay wasn’t the one to pull the trigger,” Isaac’s voice deepened.  
“Maybe not,” Nate stared across at him, leaving his hand on Taylor’s head as he groaned under him, “but he contributed nonetheless. Didn’t you?”  
“Yes Sir,” Taylor breathed between pants.  
The response made Nate give him a curious look. Isaac stood back a little, sensing the light bulb moment and not liking it one bit.  
“Sir?” Nate tilted his head slightly, “oh no, I think we can do better than that.”  
Taylor cringed, knowing exactly where this was going. He’d been here so many times before.  
“What is that?” Isaac asked, sighting Nate pulling something yellow and plastic from the bag he’d taken in with him and putting it on the table.  
“This, Isaac, is a Taser.”  
“Oh God Nate please…” Taylor shook his head, before Nate clamped a hand over his mouth again.  
“Nate you can’t do that! He has a freaking stab wound!” Isaac exclaimed incredulously, “you need to be careful or he really will bleed out!”  
“Relax, Isaac,” Nate assured, keeping one hand on Taylor as the other fumbled with the gun, “I’m not doing anything to him that hasn’t been done to me. He’ll be fine.”  
Taylor let out a muffled cry at that as Isaac just frowned.   
“You were tortured?” he raised an eyebrow, “what am I saying? You’d have to have been to end up the way you are.”  
Nate shot a glare in Isaac’s direction before picking up the dagger again and driving it into the same wound on Taylor’s hip. Taylor’s cries remained muffled under his other hand.  
“Have you noticed a connection between what you say and how much Taylor gets hurt yet?” Nate’s eyes narrowed.  
Isaac gulped slightly, his eyes on Taylor.  
“I’m sorry Tay,” he said in a defeated tone.  
Nate finally took his hand away, but Taylor was well on the way to actually crying now.  
“Ike please don’t watch this,” he begged, “I don’t think I can do it.”  
“It’s just one, simple, little word,” Nate looked incredulous, “I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”  
“I can’t help it Tay,” Isaac covered his mouth with his hand again, trying to keep it together.  
“Of course you can’t,” Nate shrugged, “it’s like a train wreck, right? You can’t look away. Now, Taylor… I want you to pay special attention to what I’m about to say to you, okay?”  
Taylor took a deep but shaky breath as he also tried to keep it together.  
“I have the Taser in my right hand, and a knife in my left. Now you can choose which one you want first, but unless I hear that word that I want to hear, you’re going to feel both of them anyway.”  
Taylor clenched his fists in a last attempt to pull his wrists free.   
“Please, Nate, I beg of you,” he barely whispered in a teary voice, “don’t make me say it.”  
“Taser it is then,” and Nate pulled the trigger.


	43. 43

“How long are they going to hold me here? We can’t stay here forever.”  
Zac had his back to the door again, talking to Haddon who mirrored him on the other side.  
“Last I heard they were working on getting a safe passage to the Pentagon,” Haddon offered, “that was maybe an hour ago, when I swapped with Devon. Since then I’ve heard what you have.”  
“The Pentagon? Again?” Zac frowned, “they’re that worried?”  
“Considering Creed has already made two attempts on you guys, coming exceedingly close on both occasions?”  
“Point taken,” Zac sighed, “sure feels great to be wanted.”  
“It can’t go on forever,” Haddon assured, “if we can find Bin Laden, we can find the Creeds.”  
Zac’s eyebrows rose at that.  
“Touché,” he nodded, “were you on that mission?”  
Haddon smirked, before they heard a sudden loud bang from down the corridor. It sounded like a large metal door slamming shut.  
“What was that?” Zac frowned, turning slightly.  
“I don’ t know,” Haddon admitted, taking the rifle from his shoulder just in case.  
“Should you go check it out?” Zac’s eyes darted.  
“My orders are to stay with you,” Haddon assured, “last line and all that.”  
“Okay…” Zac trailed off, finally turning so he could look through the window.  
Most of what he could see was the back of Haddon’s head. A small sliver of light showed the empty corridor before him.   
A moment later and the noise came again.  
“Okay surely that’s not normal,” Zac insisted, “can you at least radio Devon? Or Dekker?”  
Haddon held up a hand indicating for Zac to be quiet, obviously hearing something that Zac couldn’t. Zac watched closely as he took three careful steps forward, rifle at the ready and a tense expression on his face. On the third step a spray of red hit the window.  
“HADDON?!” Zac shouted, seeing him drop.  
The next thing he saw was a balaclava-covered face peering through the window. Zac jolted in shock and took a step back before hearing the door rattling as the man tried to open it. Taking a look around the cell he quickly deciphered that there was nothing he could use to defend himself before he heard a loud blast as the lock on the door was simply shot out.  
The door swung open and Zac saw that there were actually two men behind it. As they came in he instinctively took another step back.  
“Let me guess,” he looked between them, “Creed welcoming committee?”  
The two shared a look before coming to grab him by the shoulders.   
“Great,” Zac muttered as he was pulled from the cell.  
He eyed Haddon’s body as they stepped out over it, but he wasn’t given enough time to decipher if he was breathing or not. He was taken to the left which led to a backward stairwell which had been securely locked a minute earlier. Heading down and out to the fire escape, Zac felt a familiar sinking feeling in his chest when he spotted the black van backed up and ready.  
“Be careful with this one,” a man who’d opened the back door cautioned, “he throws punches.”  
Zac just looked confused, wondering how he was supposed to do that in cuffs. He took a quick glance over his shoulder just to make sure there was definitely no one around that could stop them before he was hauled up into the back of the van and the doors closed behind them.


	44. 44

Taylor turned his head as he felt Nate’s warm breath on his cheek. His body was convulsing for more reasons than one, and he really couldn’t do anything else. Nate was resting his chin on his arms on the edge of the table just staring at Taylor’s unresponsive face.  
“Are you ready?” he asked softly.  
Taylor felt his heart skip a beat as Nate spoke. He groaned slightly as he felt Nate trail his fingers gently down his arm again, the fact that it wasn’t smooth telling him that either his arm was bleeding or Nate’s hands were coated in his blood.  
Isaac could easily see the red covering Nate’s hands from where he sat on the other side of the gate.  
“Do I have to ask again?” Nate continued the same calm tone.  
“No,” Taylor barely choked out, “you don’t.”  
“Good,” Nate sighed, setting his chin on his hands again.  
He waited a moment in case Taylor was going to go ahead right away, but pulled a face when he didn’t. Carefully he reached over and took hold of the edge of the blindfold. Taylor flinched at the touch but didn’t move as Nate pushed the black material over his forehead and into his hair.  
Blinking rapidly Taylor tried to get his eyes used to the sudden light. There was a bright fluorescent bulb directly above the table, and it was so bright he eventually just had to keep his eyes closed.  
“I didn’t take that off for you to keep your eyes closed,” Nate said softly.  
Taylor opened his eyes again, trying to look away from the light. The only other options he had were Nate’s face on his left or the shelving to the right. He looked to the right. Nate chuckled slightly.  
“Do you think that’s enough?” he asked him.  
“I don’t… know,” Taylor choked out again, “that’s up to you.”  
“I always did appreciate you being a fast learner,” Nate tilted his head to the side a little, eyes gracing the length of Taylor’s body on the table, “question is if you’re learning the right things.”  
His eyes finally used to the light, Taylor turned his head back to face the ceiling. The pain his retinas felt was nothing in comparison to the rest of his body at this point.  
“Would you like to get off the table now?” Nate’s eyebrows rose.  
Taylor didn’t reply, knowing it was a test. He didn’t move as he tried to figure a way around it, but unable to concentrate on anything but his pain threshold he came up empty.  
“Yes,” he replied softly.  
“Yes… what?” Nate asked innocently.  
Taylor opened his mouth to reply when Nate suddenly grabbed his chin and made him look at him.  
“I want you to look me in the eye and say it,” Nate’s voice suddenly deepened.  
Taylor gulped again, his eyes darting between Nate’s nervously.  
“Yes Master,” he finally came out with.  
Nate grinned. The sudden change made Taylor shiver.  
“Then you may,” Nate let his chin go and gave him a pat on the cheek.  
Isaac watched on with tearful eyes as Nate used the dagger to slice through the cable tie holding Taylor’s bound wrists to the head of the table. Taylor let out another cry as he was finally able to bring his hands down in front of him, but he couldn’t let them touch his chest. Nate made his way down to Taylor’s ankles and began to undo the straps as Taylor finally turned his head and made eye contact with Isaac. They stared at each other in knowing silence before Nate took Taylor by the shoulder and pulled him up into a sitting position. He did need help to be able to sit up, but when he caught sight of the state of himself he had to turn his head away and lean on his hands to the side.


	45. 45

As Nate tried to help Taylor to his feet around the other side of the table Taylor’s legs suddenly collapsed from underneath him. He fell to his knees with a groan, and unable to support the dead weight Nate cautiously helped him down onto his side.  
“Stay here,” Nate insisted, “I’ll go grab the med kit.”  
He stepped over where Taylor now lay as Taylor closed his eyes. He heard Nate fiddle with the chain before unlocking it and sliding the door across. Isaac didn’t move as Nate closed it again and made to leave the cellar, knowing that for once he was actually aiming to help.  
Once he was gone Isaac fell to his knees.  
“Tay? He’s gone,” he said worriedly, “can you move?”  
“No,” Taylor had tears in his eyes again, “but I don’t know if I should, either.”  
Isaac leant his head against the door, his eyes glued to Taylor. He was surprised he was even still conscious considering the amount of blood loss.  
“Ike I’ve never felt like giving up as much as I do right now,” Taylor said suddenly, not even moving enough to wipe his tears away, “even with everything I’ve been through… we’ve been through… I never did.”  
Isaac didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing.  
“And now I know what it would feel like to stab myself in the heart,” Taylor went on, “and I’m not afraid of it anymore.”  
“Not afraid of stabbing yourself in the heart?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Of death,” Taylor corrected, barely above a whisper.  
“He won’t let you die, Tay,” Isaac insisted, “you heard him, right? He said it’s nothing he hasn’t been through himself. Whatever that means.”  
“I’m just saying,” Taylor’s voice broke a little, “whether it’s by my own hand or not, if I die… just know that I was ready to go this time.”  
“ _I’m_ not gonna let you die at thirty,” Isaac said defiantly, “I won’t let it happen Tay.”  
Taylor just closed his eyes again, letting the tears fall. Nate returned not long after.  
“Nate? Please be careful,” Isaac stepped aside so that he could get through, “he’s not good.”  
“I can see that,” Nate assured, otherwise ignoring him.  
He unlocked the chain again and stepped through, not bothering to lock it again behind him this time. He set the first aid on the table and crouched down beside Taylor.  
“Taylor?” he asked carefully.  
There was no response. Isaac frowned as he watched Nate turn Taylor’s head before checking the dilation of his pupils.  
“Tay?!” Isaac immediately stepped around the door.  
“Stay back Isaac,” Nate held up a finger to stop him before reaching up for the kit.  
“What happened? He was fine a second ago!” Isaac fretted.  
“I’ll take a wild guess and assume it’s to do with his blood pressure,” Nate didn’t seem at all phased, “I might have to give him a transfusion.”  
“You can do that?” Isaac was surprised.  
“You’d be surprised what I can do,” Nate stood up before handing Isaac a small, wet towel, “use this. Try and wake him up. I’ll be back with everything I need.”  
“You’re going to do it here?” Isaac immediately knelt to his brother.  
“Well I’m not going to do it in the house,” Nate scorned.


	46. 46

Zac couldn’t see anything about where he was going, and when they finally arrived at their destination the van was driven in through a parking garage. The moment they came to a halt the men in the back pulled off their balaclavas. Zac didn’t recognise any of them.  
The back doors opened and Zac was roughly pulled out, the scene very much reminding him of the first time he’d been taken in after being rescued from the freezer. Two of them pulled him toward a side door which opened up into what looked like an office space. Partitions sat aside and old computers were stacked against a wall, leaving only the desks and office chairs. Zac was taken to the nearest chair and forced to sit down.  
“Stay there,” one of the men pulled a gun from his belt.  
“I’m not going to fight you,” Zac assured, raising his cuffed hands a little to signify surrender.  
He kept his eye on the gun as it was armed regardless of the promise. The other man who’d brought him in had put a cell phone to his ear.  
“He’s here,” he said into it, “yes, in one piece. Are you coming down?”  
Zac’s eyes shot from the gun to the caller. He had a pretty good idea of who he was talking to.  
“Okay see you then,” and he hung up before looking to his comrade, “on his way.”  
“Good,” the gunman grumbled.  
Zac set his hands in his lap, knowing full well they didn’t have the keys to the handcuffs. Having already been in them about two days he was now wondering if they’d ever come off again.  
It took about five minutes of awkward silence before a door at the other end of the office opened. A short man with short cropped black hair and dark features entered, slipping his cell phone into his jacket pocket. He wore a suit, but it wasn’t in an overly formal manner.  
“This is 353?” his eyebrows rose, indicating Zac as he looked to the gunman.  
“The one and only,” Zac couldn’t help but smile sarcastically.  
The man with the cell phone suddenly clocked him across the jaw. Zac grunted and cupped the side of his face in his cuffed hands as he blinked the pain away.  
“Right. Forgot about that.”  
“Sure sounds like 353,” the newcomer smirked as the hitter raised his fist again at Zac’s comment.  
He lowered it again at the man’s silent insistence.  
“Pleasure to finally meet you face to face, Zachary. I’m Seth.”  
Zac looked up with a glare in his eyes.  
“So what’s the plan?” he asked, “are you going to use me to force Taylor out of hiding?”  
“No I’m sure that would never work,” Seth looked like he’d considered it, “Nathaniel is bound to have him hidden away somewhere where they wouldn’t even have access to the media. But I will find them, don’t you worry. No, my interest in you is purely part of a business transaction. One that unfortunately hit a speed bump or two but nonetheless remains having the need to be carried out.”  
Zac frowned, before he began to look worried.  
“You’re sending me back to Alaska?” he asked in surprise.  
“Why are you surprised?” Seth raised an eyebrow, “I hear your master paid good money to be sure you were the one he received. Isn’t it flattering?”  
“But why would Fowler want me back?” Zac looked between them, “especially after I shot Nigel?”  
Seth looked to the gunman.  
“I’m afraid I don’t know anything about what happened up there,” he admitted, “but a contract is a contract, and Fowler does want you back. It’s simply our job to deliver.”


	47. 47

“Now what?” Zac’s eyebrows rose, “do I go through training again?”  
“Ultimately that’s up to Fowler,” Seth seemed to consider, “but I don’t see why he wouldn’t ask us to at least do a review. Considering that you… shot someone?”  
Zac gave him a disgruntled look.  
“Then what am I doing here?” he shook his head.  
“Oh we’re not staying,” Seth assured, “consider it a chance to regroup before we head on out. And we’ll be heading to my personal training facility this time, of course.”  
“Of course,” Zac pulled a face.  
Seth gave the man to Zac’s left a nod and Zac soon received another blow across the jaw. Grunting again, he cupped his face and glared up at Seth.  
“I think the attitude is something we can all do without,” Seth suggested, “let’s not make this harder than it has to be, yes? Having said that…”  
He turned his attention to the gunman.  
“…His brother is much the same.”  
Zac looked up at the reference.  
“You still don’t have him, right?”  
“Of course I don’t have him,” Seth scorned, not looking at all happy about it, “you think I’d still be here if I did?”  
“So what, you’re just hanging around in case he’s still in the area?” Zac’s eyes narrowed, “got bad news for you, cos he’s not even in the same state. He hasn’t been for a long time.”  
Seth froze, giving Zac a thoughtful look. Zac immediately regretted speaking out.  
“Zachary… do you know where he is?” he asked curiously.  
“No,” Zac answered truthfully, “if I did, I wouldn’t be here either.”  
“And yet… they put you in cuffs. You might want to reconsider that notion,” Seth suggested.  
He ambled forward and stood right in front of Zac, making him look almost straight up.  
“How do you know he’s not in Oklahoma?” he asked.  
“The FBI followed Nate’s car out to Arkansas,” Zac felt more than uncomfortable with Seth so close.  
“Arkansas?” Seth’s eyebrows rose as he folded his arms, “where, exactly, in Arkansas?”  
“Why should I tell you?” Zac’s eyes narrowed again, “so you can pull him in for more ‘training’?”  
“How about we explore what happens if you _don’t_ tell me what I want to know?” Seth countered, giving the gunman a glance.  
The gunman suddenly leant down, taking hold of Zac’s right hand and pulling it up. He slammed his palm down onto the arm of the office chair before digging the barrel of the handgun into the soft spot between Zac’s ring and pinky fingers.  
“Whoa, whoa, wait!” he jumped, realising what was going to happen.  
Seth indicated for the gunman to wait.  
“I don’t know where he is, I’m not lying,” Zac insisted, worry evident on his face for the first time, “but the FBI did track the car through to Marshall.”  
“Marshall?” Seth nodded, before looking to the opposite man, “call Henry, tell him to track that car.”  
“That’s not where they are though,” Zac jumped in, trying to pull his hand away, “they turned off into a national park. It’s why no one’s found them yet. There’s no satellite cover.”  
Seth looked to the gunman before leaning forward and resting his hands on Zac’s lap.  
“Which park?” he demanded, looking Zac in the eye.


	48. 48

“I don’t know for sure,” Zac insisted, leaning as far back into the chair as he could, “somewhere between Ozark and Buffalo River.”  
“It’s a start,” the man who’d pulled out his phone observed.  
Seth stared Zac in the eye as if trying to decipher if that were all he knew. Finally, he pulled back.  
“Call Henry,” he nodded, “I want Nathaniel found. He’s been on the run for far too long.”  
Zac held back the urge to roll his eyes, returning his gaze down to where the gun was still digging into his hand.  
Having more people on Nate’s trail couldn’t hurt, he just hoped the military found him first.  
“We need to get this one on the move,” Seth indicated Zac before walking away, “I want him in Chadron within twenty-four hours.”  
“Chadron?” Zac frowned as the gun was removed from his hand, “Nebraska?”  
“And for God’s sake gag him,” Seth had obviously lost his patience, “one that he can’t remove.”  
“Where are you going?” the caller asked as he dialled yet again.  
“I’m going to put together a scouting team and take a road trip out to Marshall. Before I leave I’ll call Fowler and update him with our progress.”  
Zac grit his teeth as he watched the man leave. The man on the phone was quick with his call to ‘Henry’ and when he was done he took Zac by the arm.  
“Let’s go,” he nodded to his accomplice.  
The gunman took Zac’s other arm and they pulled him to his feet, roughly leading him back out to the van. 

*

There was hardly any sunlight coming in through the window when Taylor opened his eyes toward it. But the first thing he registered was the pain he was still in.  
His first reaction was to try and cover the stab wound with his hands, which led him to finding his wrists bound to opposite sides of the bedhead with cable ties.  
With a groan his head hit the pillow again. He didn’t take his eyes from the ceiling when the door opened, figuring the noise he’d made had alerted Nate to his being awake.  
“Taylor,” he sounded relieved, making his way in.  
Taylor tried to ignore him but he already felt his fingers quivering. Nate came to the edge of the bed and knelt beside it, Taylor hearing him move the chain of the shackle aside which he also registered was back on his ankle.  
“How are you feeling?” Nate sounded genuinely concerned.  
Taylor’s brow furrowed incredulously. He didn’t know where to start, but knew he had to answer.  
“Like I’ve been hit by a freight train,” his voice croaked.  
Nate paused to look him over before gently checking one of the many bandages across Taylor’s torso. Taylor drew in a shaky breath at his touch. Everywhere hurt.  
“Understandable,” Nate nodded, “you crashed at one point. I had to give you a blood transfusion.”  
“What?” Taylor finally looked toward him, the movement making him light-headed, “how?”  
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” Nate assured, “and I had some on-hand just in case. You just need to rest up for now. I won’t expect any more from you tonight.”  
“You just happened to have some of my blood type on-hand?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose.  
“Get some rest,” Nate reiterated, standing to leave.  
Taylor twisted his wrists as he watched after him, flinching as the ties pinched open wounds.


	49. 49

Isaac looked up as he heard the chain being undone. Wondering why Nate would be back so soon when he hadn’t expected to see him again that day already had him thinking the worst.  
He’d watched on as Nate had performed the transfusion in the same room Taylor had collapsed, and had helped Nate carry him up the ladder before being locked down there again. That had only been a few hours earlier, so there’d be no way Taylor would be ready for a visit yet.  
He got to his feet as Nate began down the ladder. He had something in his hands.  
“Taylor’s awake,” Nate informed him as he hit the bottom.  
Isaac saw that it was a plate of food in his hands.  
“He would have wanted me to give you this, so…” Nate held the plate out awkwardly.  
Isaac hesitated but took the plate. Without turning his back on the man, he took it to the side wall to start eating. Nate just watched, sliding his hands into his pockets.  
“You weren’t supposed to see that,” he said suddenly, “I’m sorry.”  
Isaac looked up in surprise, still chewing his first mouthful. An apology from Nathan Devereux?  
He hurriedly swallowed the food in his mouth.  
“Even if I hadn’t witnessed it,” he began carefully, “it still would have happened. So your apology means nothing.”  
Nate gave him a curious look. He obviously wasn’t used to apologising to begin with let alone having it rejected. Isaac diverted his eyes, feeling very much like a caged animal.  
“I’m apologising for your seeing it, not for having done it,” he corrected, making Isaac roll his eyes.  
He went back to eating and hoped Nate would leave him alone. When all he did was stand and watch, Isaac started getting aggravated.  
“So is this all you have planned for us?” he demanded, “keeping Taylor chained upstairs and me locked down here? What’s the point of my even being here?”  
“Saving face,” Nate shrugged, “you would have involved yourself anyway, I’m sure.”  
“So this is it?” Isaac indicated the cellar, “I’m just supposed to stay down here forever? Getting fed whenever Tay convinces you it’s a good idea?”  
“I haven’t decided yet,” Nate folded his arms lazily.  
“And how long are you going to take?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose pointedly, “you do realise you’re playing with peoples’ lives, right?”  
Nate frowned suddenly, and Isaac wondered if he’d said the wrong thing. Taylor had often warned of Nate’s penchant for psychotic personality changes but Isaac had never actually witnessed them for himself. He wasn’t sure if the torture session counted.  
He sighed and shook his head, knowing Nate at least wouldn’t have appreciated the outburst.  
“Nate, I’m tired,” he said by way of explanation, “and I am going stir crazy. Add to that I have _no_ idea what you’re doing to my brother up there, or if he’s even going to survive the week.”  
He paused as Nate gave him a sceptical look. He obviously thought he could keep Taylor alive.  
“I know you might think you know what you’re doing because maybe a similar thing happened to you once,” he went on, “but even I can tell this is the first time you’ve undertaken something like this all on your own.”  
“I’ve had Taylor before,” Nate’s eyes narrowed.  
“But not like this,” Isaac looked around for emphasis, “I can only guess how isolated we actually are. All I can hear are birds and the occasional wild animal passing by. Are we in the woods?”  
Nate eyed the plate Isaac still held, knowing it wouldn’t be emptied anytime soon. He sighed.


	50. 50

Taylor looked up as he heard Nate returning to the cabin, but he couldn’t see him from where he was even with the bedroom door open. As he heard him start to clean up the kitchen, his head hit the pillow again.  
It was possibly another half hour to an hour before Nate came into the bedroom and began getting ready for bed. He seemed to ignore Taylor, and the mood was somewhat tense. When Taylor realised he was just going to go to bed without doing anything else, he nervously cleared his throat.  
“Nate?” he asked softly, watching closely for a reaction, “can you please untie my wrists? They’re really hurting.”  
Nate paused, looking over his shoulder at him as he sat on the opposite bed.  
“So we’ve regressed back to a first name basis already?” he raised an eyebrow.  
Taylor swallowed, realising his mistake. He turned to face the ceiling.   
Nate stood from the bed and made his way over. Taylor didn’t move. When Nate came to rest by his side and just stared down at him, Taylor slowly clenched his fists.  
“I’m sorry,” he said, still not making eye contact, “but I’ve known you as ‘Nate’ for the past ten years, it’s going to take some getting used to.”  
Nate nodded thoughtfully.  
“If you can say it again, I will cut you free,” he assured before holding up a finger, “but only if you promise not to touch the bandages. Some of them aren’t holding on very well and we don’t need you getting an infection. Or bleeding any more than you already have.”  
“I promise,” Taylor nodded, getting hopeful.  
Nate waited. When Taylor realised he was waiting for him to say it, he closed his eyes for a moment to gather himself.  
“I promise, Master,” he blurted.  
“Okay,” Nate nodded.  
He left the room to fetch the switchblade, soon returning and cutting Taylor’s wrists free. Taylor sighed in relief, immediately holding them.  
“They’ll need to be bandaged,” Nate observed, pocketing the blade.  
Taylor made to sit up on the bed, immediately regretting it as a dizzy spell hit. With a groan he put a hand to his forehead and decided to wait until Nate returned from the bathroom with the med kit. He didn’t take long, and soon set to cleaning the wounds on his wrists and covering them up.  
“May I go to the bathroom?” Taylor asked tiredly when he was almost done.  
“Of course,” Nate looked confused at why he would ask.  
“Thank you,” Taylor whispered, closing his eyes until Nate was done.  
As Nate began to pack up Taylor carefully swung his legs around to the side of the bed and set his feet on the floor. He took a few deep breaths before trying to stand, and found he had to lean on the bedside table to keep himself upright. Seeing his predicament, Nate helped him get from there to the bathroom door where he had more things to lean against. Once Taylor had hold of the doorway and then the towel rack inside the door, Nate quickly put everything away before leaving him to it.  
Taylor kicked part of the chain aside so that he could make it to the toilet, wincing as the movement pulled at his stab wound. As he passed the mirror he had to stop and lean against the basin. Catching sight of himself, he blanched. It was the first time he’d stopped to look at the collar.  
He quickly felt around it to make sure that he definitely couldn’t undo the lock before he stepped away from the view. Dwelling on it was only going to make things ten times worse.


	51. 51

Zac could barely believe it, but had actually managed to get some sleep on the long ride to Chadron. He figured he must have gotten so bored at some point that he’d just drifted off. It sure wasn’t because he was comfortable.  
Back in the same van his wrists had been restrained above his head – still in the cuffs – to a clip on the side. While he’d long ago lost feeling in his hands he couldn’t protest about it. They’d locked a ball gag onto him.  
He couldn’t see anything from where he was, but it was obvious by the looks on his captors’ faces when they were getting close to their destination. The van slowed considerably and hit a few speed bumps before coming to a halt completely. Before anyone opened the doors there came a large metallic whirring sound from somewhere behind them. When it ended Zac’s cuffs were cut free and the back door opened.   
The sound had been a large roller door coming down. Zac was hauled out just in front of it before being pulled to the van’s left. The garage was dark and housed a few other vans as well as a well-restored old Camaro. The windows were all barred, including the internal.  
Zac was taken to a door on the right which led into a corridor full of doors. He immediately recognised them as cell doors both through the smell that invaded the walkway and from the unmistakable moans and groans coming from behind most of the doors. That, and they were all padlocked.  
He jumped as one of his escorts’ phones rang. It was the one who’d called ‘Henry’ to organise a team to go after Nate.  
“Yeah?” he answered it, pulling on Zac’s arm to halt him as he spoke.  
“Yeah we’re here,” he confirmed to the caller, “any instructions? … I do know he’s one of Krüger’s.”  
Zac looked across at the reference. The caller gave his accomplice a glance as he received his instructions.  
“So he’s not in a rush?” the man confirmed.  
Zac jumped as he heard a girl’s scream from further down the corridor. Before the call ended a man left the room it had come from with a satisfied smirk on his face. Seeing the three of them in the hall he turned and walked the other way.   
“Okay fine. Will keep you updated,” the call ended abruptly and he looked to his accomplice again, “Fowler’s not in any hurry to get this one back. Seth wants him to go through the refresher course with Hudson.”  
“We’ll need to get the cuffs and collar on him,” the gunman said in a surprisingly deep voice.  
“Better stop in at hardware then,” the caller smirked, taking Zac’s arm again.  
They continued down the corridor and turned right at the end. Zac began to wonder if this was some sort of old jail that had been redone to look like the base in Waco. There were a lot more cells in this one however, and there seemed to be a lot more people both trapped and wandering around.  
It was some time before they came to the room they’d been heading for. It opened out into a shed, and it seemed like every surface was covered with leather and metal. Most were methods of restraint, but a lot were weapons as well.  
The gunman took him to a side wall where a shelf of tools sat, taking a bolt cutter from the collection. The caller held Zac’s wrists out as the gunman cut through the handcuffs then worked to get them off. That done, they were soon replaced with the standard leather cuffs.   
Zac didn’t believe his heart could have sunk any further when he saw him approach with the collar.


	52. 52

Taylor awoke before the sun rose. At first he wondered why, but soon came to the conclusion that it was because he’d slept too much the day before in recovery.  
This time when he sat up in bed he didn’t get the dizzy spells. Aside from his wounds he didn’t feel too bad this morning.  
Carefully reaching over to collect the chain and trying not to pull his abdomen too far, he managed to pull himself out of bed and head for the bathroom. He didn’t want to risk taking a shower with all the bandages covering his body, so he went straight to the cabinet with his clothes and sifted through for something light to wear. He came across a long sleeved blue and white striped button-down shirt and pulled it over his aching shoulders before going over to the sink and washing his face.  
When he was done he looked down at the shackle on his ankle and wondered how far it would reach from the bedroom into the main room. He hadn’t tried to find out before. Deciding he had nothing to lose, he took a deep breath before turning off the bathroom light and opening the door again. He knelt slightly to lift the chain and pull it taut so that it wouldn’t make any noise to wake Nate, before he quietly stepped over to the bedroom door. Once out he set the chain down again before beginning to test the pull.  
As he made it to the wall between the doors and the kitchen, he paused. While he’d been out Nate must have been doing some work. A ring bolt had been drilled into the wall and a long silver chain was attached to it, coiling underneath it in a pile on the floor. With a nervous glance back he guessed what it must have been for. The collar.  
He knew if he reached out as far as he could – his injuries willing – he’d just be able to reach one of the dining chairs. But he knew it wasn’t worth trying. Instead, he fell to his knees between the wall and the edge of the couch, before falling back into a sit against it. He couldn’t do anything else but wait until Nate woke up.  
It was another good half hour or so before he heard movement. After hearing Nate stir, he sensed a moment of panic before he appeared in the doorway to see where the chain led.  
“You’re up,” he said in surprise, before leaning against the doorway tiredly.  
“Couldn’t sleep,” Taylor offered, not bothering to look up, “I didn’t want to wake you.”  
An awkward moment of silence followed before Nate stepped into the room. Taylor watched as his legs passed where he sat, making his way into the kitchen. Nate’s duffel sat on the dining table and he rummaged through it for some time before returning to Taylor’s side.  
“Want to get rid of the shackle?” his eyebrows rose.  
Taylor looked up to see what Nate held. It was a padlock.  
He looked over to where the chain connected to the wall sat as Nate took one step toward it and picked up the end.  
“Is it going to stay on forever?” Taylor asked worriedly.  
“We’ll see,” Nate shrugged, “for now, yes. But it does reach pretty far.”  
Taylor rubbed his face as he stared at it. It may even reach to the front door, but he was definitely sure it wouldn’t reach down to the cellar. That meant as long as he wore it he wouldn’t see Isaac.  
Nate came back to him and hooked the padlock through the last link.  
“Ready?” Nate asked.  
“Yes Master,” Taylor lied, hoping the term would at least put Nate in a better mood for the morning.  
Nate leant down to attach the chain, before going to retrieve the key to the shackle.  
“I’m going to have a shower,” he gave Taylor a pat on the shoulder once it was done.


	53. 53

By the time Nate emerged from the bathroom, Taylor had found something to do. He’d already found his way around the kitchen and put on their breakfast, but in the effort had come across some cleaning supplies and decided to have a go at the floor underneath the chair Nate liked to restrain him to. The floorboards were covered in spots of blood and he knew the attempt would likely be fruitless, but it gave him something to occupy his time with.  
“What are you doing?”  
Taylor jumped, at first not realising Nate was in the doorway.  
“Cleaning,” he offered in response, quickly getting back to it.  
Nate paused in confusion before making his way to the kitchen. Taylor paused as Nate walked around behind him and saw the food cooking away.  
“Alright,” he said to himself before stepping out of the kitchen again.  
Taylor waited until he was at least back in his peripheral before getting back to work.  
“Why the sudden turnaround?” Nate looked down at him from where he stood back against the couch.  
“It wasn’t sudden,” Taylor replied, scrubbing at a particularly large dark spot, “I just wasn’t able to before.”  
Nate considered that before nodding.  
“Okay,” he reasoned before going to sit on the couch.  
Taylor kept his eye on him but didn’t stop working. A few minutes later he used one of the chairs to pull himself up so that he could go and check on the breakfast. It didn’t take long to plate up, and he took a seat in his chair as he waited for Nate to make a start.  
Taylor ran the chain through his fingers as he waited for Nate to eat in the opposite chair, surprised at how light the chain actually felt. Particularly in relation to the collar which he was still having some trouble with.  
When Nate was done he sat back and gave Taylor a nod. This meant that he could eat. Nate watched on as Taylor began cautiously, not entirely sure he was going to be able to hold it down yet.  
He kept his left hand on the chain, holding it out of the way.  
“How are you feeling this morning?” Nate asked suddenly.  
Taylor continued to eat as he thought, trying to be truthful about his answer.  
“Better,” he nodded, “it still hurts but… at least I can think clearly.”  
“Then it’s settled in to being a reminder,” Nate nodded.  
Taylor frowned at that before they were distracted by a loud beeping sound coming from the other side of the couch. Thinking it may have been the satellite phone, Taylor watched as Nate immediately ducked over to his backpack and fished through.  
He came out with a pager. Wondering who would possibly be paging Nate, Taylor was paying attention as Nate began to look suddenly worried.  
When he began to frantically start packing his bag up Taylor began to feel worried by proxy.  
“What’s going on?” he asked, hoping he was allowed to.  
“We’ve got company,” Nate was too preoccupied to care.  
He ducked into the bedroom and out of sight. Unsure of what to do, Taylor stood from the table and began clearing it. He took the dishes into the kitchen and set them on the sink before Nate reappeared.  
He faltered when he saw that Nate had Krüger’s pistol in his hand.


	54. 54

“Can I ask what you mean by that?” Taylor asked cautiously from the edge of the kitchen.  
“It means…” Nate began absently as he made for the duffel and began packing that up too, “that someone tripped the motion sensor I installed at the end of the driveway. We’ve got maybe half an hour until whoever it is shows up here uninvited.”  
“Who else knows you’re here?” Taylor frowned.  
“No one. That’s the problem.”  
Taylor glanced toward the bedroom, unsure if he should suggest what he was about to.  
“What if the courier-?”  
“It’s nothing to do with her,” Nate cut him off before looking up, “go and grab anything from the bathroom you can and bring it here. Hurry!”  
Taylor grit his teeth but did as he was told. He headed for the cabinet where the medical supplies were kept and gathered everything he could fit into his arms before taking it back to Nate and dumping it on the couch beside the duffel. Nate began stuffing everything into the bag before suddenly grabbing hold of the chain. Taylor almost fell over at the tug.  
Before he could ask what he was doing, Nate had pulled a key and unlocked the padlock.  
“Take this out to the car,” he ordered, handing Taylor the duffel.  
Taylor grimaced as the weight pulled on the wound in his abdomen, but he wasn’t about to object to a direct order. As Nate continued fussing around the cabin he made his way out the front and over to the red car. After nervously eyeing the white courier van parked nearby, he opened the back door of the car and threw the bag in. As he did so, something in the distance caught his attention.  
When Nate appeared in the doorway with his backpack Taylor pointed down the dirt track.  
“Nate?!” he called out.  
Nate looked up to see the dust cloud rising above the trees. The rumble they could now hear was unmistakable.  
“That’s impossible,” Nate looked even more worried when he made it to the car.  
He threw the backpack in before looking back to the cabin and running his fingers through his hair.  
“It’s got to be Seth,” he cursed.  
“Seth?!” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, now understanding the fear all too well.  
“I was expecting him to find us, but not this soon,” Nate grit his teeth.  
He shut the car door and jogged to the side of the cabin, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked down behind it into the surrounding forest.  
“We haven’t got long,” he turned back over his shoulder before backing up and jogging back to Taylor, “you’re going to have to run.”  
“What?!” Taylor looked incredulous, “Nate, I _can’t_ run! And why would you ask me to?!”  
“Look, the important thing right now is that Seth does not get hold of you,” Nate insisted, “I’m unprepared for this. Now would you rather go with him, or maybe spend a couple of days lost in the forest?”  
Taylor looked back into the trees before turning back to the dust cloud. It was getting closer.  
“What about Ike?” he gulped, “what about him?! Can he come too?”  
“I’ll make sure they don’t find out he’s here, nothing will happen to him I promise,” Nate assured, “but I need a reason for you to come back to me of your own accord. For now? You need to run!”  
He gave Taylor an earnest shove, and Taylor didn’t wait any longer. Taking a quick glance in the direction of the cellar, he took off as fast as he could. It wasn’t fast at all.


	55. 55

Isaac stood about halfway up the ladder, listening intently. He’d gotten the gist of the conversation (or what he could hear of it) between Taylor and Nate, and he wasn’t liking what he heard.  
He did hear Taylor’s footsteps go past as he’d taken off into the trees, but Isaac wasn’t game enough to draw attention to himself. He assumed he was going to be left down there until whatever was about to happen had ended.  
It wasn’t long after Taylor disappeared that he heard a vehicle pulling up and hitting the brakes. Make that two vehicles, one a lot heavier than the other. There was immediately a lot of yelling – a great deal of it from Nate – before the general noise died down and he could make out some dialogue.  
“Where is he?” came an unknown voice.  
“Don’t know who you’re talking about,” Nate returned.  
A gunshot sounded, but nothing else. Wherever it had been aimed, it didn’t hit anybody.  
“Great to see you too, Seth,” Nate scorned.  
“Seth?” Isaac barely breathed, “already?”  
“Where is he?” the voice repeated, firmer this time.  
“Not here.”  
Another gunshot made Isaac jump. He grabbed onto the ladder tighter.  
“Keep doing that and you’re just going to make me angry,” Nate grunted.  
“Then how about I just shoot you and be done with it?”  
“Where is all this hostility coming from?” Nate seemed to be putting on an act.  
“You’re a rogue, _Nate_ ,” Seth spat, “we don’t deal with rogues. Now hand Taylor over or so help me…”  
“Can’t hand over what I haven’t got.”  
“Then tell me where he is.”  
“Can’t tell you what I don’t know.”  
There was a pause before Isaac heard footsteps walking away, presumably up toward the cabin.  
“Wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Nate warned.  
“You’re not in a position of power here,” Seth retorted, “you’re slightly outnumbered if you hadn’t noticed.”  
“That might worry me if I thought you might actually shoot me.”  
Another gunshot. This time, Isaac knew it had hit Nate.  
“Search everywhere,” Seth ordered.  
Isaac heard multiple footsteps scatter, one coming in his direction. They paused by the cellar door and Isaac carefully stepped down, hoping against hope the door wouldn’t open.  
“I got tracks over here!” an unknown voice called just above the door, “they’re heading into the trees!”  
“Follow them!” Seth ordered, “and fan out! Someone call Henry and have him drop more scouts at the other side! Let’s find this darn kid!”  
Isaac heard more footsteps run past and began second-guessing himself. If Nate was dead, and he had no way out of the cellar, maybe he _should_ try and draw attention to himself…  
No, not to Seth Creed. He’d probably be better off dead.  
Biting into his fist as he fought with himself he paced a little before hearing footsteps again. As he froze to listen, he also began to smell something… odd. Gasoline?


	56. 56

Taylor stopped to lean against a tree sometime later. He knew he wasn’t far enough away yet, but his wounds were really pulling at him and he just couldn’t run any further right now.  
He took a few deep breaths before looking back, half expecting to see someone behind him. The trees gave away nothing.  
He debated sitting down for a rest, but knew that if he got down he probably wouldn’t get up again. So instead he decided to push himself and keep going. He’d barely taken a few steps before he heard an almighty roar from the direction he’d come.  
Stopping to look back, it took a few moments for the smoke to appear above the trees.  
“Ike?” he breathed, eyes wide, “no!”  
He took a step forward before taking a few steps back. He couldn’t go back to the cabin, he knew that much. If they’d found Isaac it might have even been a ploy to get him back there. Closing his eyes he tried to convince himself that it was really what they were doing before he put a hand to his forehead and tried to calm himself down.  
Before he could start walking again he suddenly leant against the tree again and lost his breakfast. The pull of his injuries, the emotional turmoil and now the worry for Isaac had suddenly taken its toll.  
He paused against the tree to recover before groaning and pulling himself away. He had to keep going.  
He’d been walking for maybe fifteen minutes before he came across a light stream. Making his way down to it he quickly had a drink before looking up and down it. The stream didn’t come from nowhere, and it wasn’t going nowhere either. Eventually there’d be an end, and hopefully the start of some civilisation.  
He turned to check behind him again before he started following it. At least he’d have a source of water nearby for the trek.   
When he came to a slight ridge maybe ten minutes later, he paused to listen. He could just barely hear shouting in the distance. He knew it must have been behind him, but he could have sworn it was more in the direction that the stream was coming from.  
He turned back to scan the trees, having a slightly better view from the top of the rise. The trees still showed nothing.  
When he continued to hear the shouting – evidently getting closer – he put a hand to the wound in his side and began to pick up the pace. Even if he started to bleed again it’d be a lesser fate than what was waiting for him if he were caught.   
Careful not to trip over anything and remembering all too well how the original chase with Nate and Bernard had ended, he kept his eyes up and finally broke into a run. He needed to at least get away from the voices. If he could put enough distance between him and them, then he might be able to catch his breath. Hopefully he’d reach the end of the stream before that happened.  
It took some time, but at some point he did stop and he couldn’t hear the voices anymore. Deciding to keep going just to make sure he made it another fifteen minutes or so before he had to slow down. The pull in his side was excruciating and he was tempted to just lay down in the stream and be done with it. Maybe he’d get lucky and be found by a hungry bear or mountain lion.  
He shortly stopped to have another drink before continuing on yet again. He had no idea what he was going to do if he were still out here for the night. How far away from a road could they have been? Nate had mentioned the driveway alone had been a half hour ride…


	57. 57

Zac felt like he’d been in the cell for most of the day. He probably had. But there were no windows and no clocks, so once again time evaded him. He was already getting flashbacks to the hole.  
At least Taylor wasn’t there this time. And at least he knew his final destination. Back with Fowler.  
Alaska wasn’t really so bad.  
He’d heard many footsteps going past his door, but the entire hallway echoed no matter what sound came through. Unlike the hole there was a lot of noise from his fellow prisoners, including screaming and crying from as best he could tell both genders. He tried not to imagine what was happening to the girls down there.  
He had no idea how long it had been before he heard the door suddenly unlocking. Vaguely hoping that it would be something to eat, he watched curiously as a man in his forties and wearing a casual grey suit entered with a large briefcase and what looked like a shortened walking cane.  
“Afternoon,” the man greeted with a nod as he closed the door behind him.  
Zac’s eyes darted back to the door as he heard someone lock it again from the outside.  
The man set his briefcase and the stick down to the side before pulling a set of small keys from his jacket pocket. Indicating to Zac what he was going to do, he came forward to carefully unlock the gag. Zac immediately exercised his jaw, now knowing what it must have felt like for Taylor in the hole.  
The man set the gag aside before kneeling about three feet away and studying Zac’s face.  
“My name is Hudson,” he introduced.  
Zac immediately gave him a curious look. No one had ever willingly given up their name before. Beside Seth, who didn’t really seem to care.  
“I’m aware that you already have a master,” Hudson carried on, pulling a small notebook from his pants pocket to check, “…Fowler, is that correct?”  
“Apparently,” Zac responded, glancing at the door again.  
Hudson returned the pad to his pocket.  
“I’m not going to try and be your master, I understand that would make it confusing,” he explained straight off the bat, “but I am looking forward to working with you ever diligently to get you up to speed as soon as possible. Any questions?”  
Zac paused, not expecting to be asked.  
“What should I call you?” he asked, worry already evident in his voice.  
Hudson seemed to be trying to put him at ease, but he was already eyeing the briefcase and wondering if the contents were anything like Krüger’s infamous boxes.  
“Hudson for now. Or Sir if you feel that’s easier,” Hudson seemed lenient, “as long as it’s in a respectful tone. Anything else?”  
“How long will it take?” Zac asked.  
“I just met you, I don’t know,” Hudson shrugged, “but I will make an assessment at the end of our session and let you know. Now, what name did Fowler call you?”  
“He didn’t call me anything, he barely spoke to me,” Zac’s eyes darted again as Hudson stood, “but his workers called me Zac.”  
“Well then, Zac…” Hudson went to fetch the stick.  
He tapped the end against a wall, two pins shooting out of it. Zac leant his head back against the wall when he realised it was a cattle prod.  
“Shall we begin?”


	58. 58

The sun was starting to go down and Taylor was finally getting used to the idea of spending the night in the forest. He so far hadn’t run into any oversized wild animals but he’d been eyeing off the trees and trying to find one he could climb just in case.  
For now he’d had to sit down and lean against a particularly tall one for a break. His hip was still hurting, and he was almost sure it had started bleeding again when he’d run. He’d been too worried to actually check it though.  
With a sigh he closed his eyes. He needed to find a tree to spend the night in soon.  
“What on Earth are you doing all the way out here by yourself?”  
Taylor almost jumped out of his skin. He hadn’t heard footsteps or anything, but there he was… standing just ten feet away.  
A quick look to his right showed a gunman about twenty yards off. Knowing it was game over, he leant back against the tree.  
“Not taking my humanity for granted,” he muttered.  
Seth paused to consider the comment before he casually stepped closer. Taylor didn’t move.  
“You know, I was this close,” Seth held his pointer and thumb barely an inch apart, “to putting a kill order on you.”  
“Then why didn’t you?” Taylor frowned.  
It was certainly looking like the better option.  
“Because I am far from done with you yet,” Seth assured, coming to rest a few feet away with his hands in his pockets.  
Taylor suddenly wished he’d picked up a sharp rock on his travels so that he could stab himself then and there.  
“I don’t take kindly to people like you sending my cohorts to prison.”  
“So now I get the blame for that too?” Taylor finally looked up.  
“Well you did go to the media,” Seth reasoned, “you did involve the military… oh, and you did drop my name on national television. Doesn’t help my image any.”  
“Like it needs help,” Taylor couldn’t help himself.  
He didn’t know what it was about Seth that brought the fight out in him, but he was almost thankful for it. It proved there was still life in him no matter how much Nate took away.  
“In any case,” Seth looked up as the gunman came closer and Taylor registered further footfalls behind him, “get him up.”  
Taylor looked up as someone came from behind and pulled him up by the shoulder none-too-carefully. He straight away grimaced in pain and held his hip with his left hand.  
“Wait, wait,” Seth waved the gunman off as he came to stand in front of Taylor, “what was that?”  
Taylor just stared down at him, trying to catch his breath again. Seth hit his hand away and pulled the shirt aside. His eyebrows rose.  
“It would appear Nate has done some damage,” he observed the red bandage.  
He went to remove it, then thought better.  
“Anyone bring any tape?” Seth looked between his men.  
When there was no reply, he rolled his eyes.  
“Use your belt to bind his hands,” he instructed the gunman who immediately went to do so, “we’ll need to get these wounds checked out when we get back. If we leave now we should make it before dark.”


	59. 59

Taylor didn’t fight back as he felt the leather belt go around his wrists, holding them behind his back. It wasn’t overly tight but he wouldn’t be getting out of it.  
“I’d love to know what you did to deserve this. Not to mention such a heavy duty collar,” Seth mused as he studied underneath Taylor’s open shirt, “but you do have a tendency to aggravate your superiors, am I right?”  
Taylor just gave him a condescending look as Seth slowly began to button up the shirt from top to bottom.  
“The silent treatment doesn’t become you,” Seth’s eyebrows rose as he finished up and stepped aside, “be glad we need that voice of yours or I might have decided to take it away completely. Right, let’s get going then.”  
Seth began to lead the way back, cutting back on a diagonal to where Taylor had come from. Taylor was already exhausted from his own hike and had to be helped along for the most part. The vast majority of the walk was in silence.  
It was dark by the time they made it back to the cabin, but there was no mistaking where it was. The cabin was in flames.  
Taylor felt his heart leap into his throat when he saw it, thinking of Isaac still in the cellar. As they came into the clearing he took note that the flames were nowhere near the door (at least) but he didn’t have much time to contemplate it.  
Seth stopped in his tracks by the side of the house and spread his arms.  
“Is something missing here?” he asked.  
His men looked between each other, slightly worried.  
“Is there, or is there not, supposed to be a body here?” Seth’s voice deepened.  
He turned to look at his men, then focused on one standing by one of the vans. One Taylor hadn’t seen before.  
“Where’s Nate?!” he demanded.  
“Nate?” the man frowned, looking to the spot on the ground Seth had just passed.  
Taylor saw the pool of blood surrounded by scuffle marks in the dirt.  
“Yes, Nate! The corpse that was just here!” Seth’s voice rose, “don’t tell me you idiots let him get away?!”  
Taylor eyed the cellar door, careful not to be obvious. If Nate had gotten away, he’d at least promised to keep Isaac safe. He hated to think he was relying on his word, but there was nothing else he could do right now. Not without endangering Isaac further.  
“Destroy the cars,” Seth grumbled, waving his hands as he began toward one of the vans, “hopefully he’ll bleed out before he can walk out of here. And get Taylor over here, I don’t want him out of my sight for a second.”  
Taylor glanced back before he was taken by the shoulder and led over to the van Seth had opened the back door of. He saw the duffel being pulled from Nate’s car and the courier van being ransacked before one of them took a can of gasoline and began pouring it over both vehicles. They were set alight as Taylor was helped up into the van and sat in a back corner opposite Seth.  
When he let out a groan at the pain in his hip, Seth just looked on thoughtfully.  
“We have a long ride ahead,” he said suddenly, making Taylor’s eyes open again, “is it bleeding?”  
“I don’t know,” Taylor leant his head back against the grate, “I can’t tell.”  
Seth looked across as Taylor’s escorts also jumped into the back and closed the door behind them.


	60. 60

They’d been on the road for maybe an hour or so before another word was spoken. Seth had been keeping his eye on a barely-conscious Taylor the entire time.  
“Help me understand something,” he began, making Taylor glance across at him, “did you really think you would get away with it?”  
Taylor looked over to the other two in the back before shaking his head.  
“I didn’t expect to get away with it. I knew you’d come eventually,” he admitted, “I just expected you to kill me for it instead.”  
“So why do it? You don’t have a death wish, do you?”  
Taylor almost smiled at that but managed to contain it.  
“Assuming you’re talking about going to the media,” he also held back a smirk, “consider it a way to finally hit back. But I didn’t only do it to piss you off, I had other reasons.”  
“Such as?” Seth seemed genuinely interested.  
Taylor hesitated, trying to think of a way to put it.  
“We didn’t know who we could trust at the time,” he came out with, hoping it wouldn’t give too much away.  
“Ah yes… good old Sergeant Davison,” Seth mused as Taylor’s eyes narrowed, “friend of a friend, I should say. Never had anything much to do with him myself. Pass me that bag.”  
Taylor’s eyes followed his indication as one of the men in the back passed over the duffel they’d retrieved from Nate’s car. Knowing what was in it, Taylor began to look worried.  
Seth opened it and began to look through.  
“You wouldn’t happen to know where the key to that collar is, would you?” he asked as he did so.  
“No,” Taylor replied, “I never saw it.”  
He jumped suddenly as Seth pulled out the Taser. Seth noticed and eyed him suspiciously.  
“Not a fan, hey?” his eyebrows rose.  
Taylor looked away as Seth returned it to the bag and continued going through.  
“Here we go…”  
Seth pulled the roll of duct tape and set the bag aside. Taylor looked up again as Seth began to move over to him.  
“Nate is nothing if not prepared,” Seth said in an appreciative tone as he came to rest slightly to Taylor’s side.  
Taylor could only watch as he began to undo the buttons of his shirt again. Remembering all too well how close Seth had gotten to him the very first time they’d met, he had to work to convince himself that Seth was just checking his wounds over.  
Once Seth had the shirt undone he began carefully removing the bandages, starting from the top. Most of the smaller cuts had already begun to heal, and a few of the larger ones had at least scabbed over. When Seth got down to the stab wound in his hip, Taylor braced himself.  
The pull on his skin made him clench his teeth, but he managed to hold back an audible reaction.  
“Anyone got a light?” Seth looked over his shoulder.  
One of the men handed him a small flashlight and Seth used it to inspect the wound.  
“Well he certainly did a good job of it,” he muttered as Taylor took deep breaths.  
Taylor could only wait as he carried out his inspection before pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. He folded it over and bit off a short amount of tape before using it to replace the bandage.  
“It will bleed a little longer,” he informed him, “when we get back we’ll need to give you stitches.”


	61. 61

Isaac had been frantically searching the torture room for anything that could help him get the handcuffs off. Aside from hitting the chain with a blunt object he was out of ideas, and he needed a second person to do that.  
He was well aware that the cabin was on fire. He could not only smell it, but hear it. He was expecting the cellar roof to collapse in at any moment.  
Above the roar of the fire he couldn’t hear the door opening. It was only when he saw movement out the corner of his eye that he paid attention.  
“Nate?!” he frowned, seeing his head duck down.  
“Get out of there!” Nate called out, disappearing again.  
Isaac didn’t wait, he bolted for the ladder. It was hard, but he made it up. When he got to the top and saw the state of the cabin, he had to back away in shock.  
“Holy…” he trailed off, eyes wide.  
It took him a moment to register Nate laying on the ground off to the side. He was clutching his chest and taking deep breaths. Knowing he was too close to the fire to stay there long, Isaac gave in to instinct and quickly ducked over to drag him out of the way.  
“What the Hell happened?!” he exclaimed once they were well enough clear.  
Nate coughed for a moment before sitting up to watch the fire.  
“Seth happened,” he was having trouble talking.  
When Isaac paid closer attention he finally noticed the blood coming from between Nate’s fingers.  
“He shot you, didn’t he?” he stared down at him.  
“Don’t get too excited,” Nate insisted, “if it were a kill shot I’d be dead already.”  
“From where I was it sounded like he assumed you were,” Isaac mused.  
“Shove it. If I were dead you would be too.”  
Isaac looked back at the cabin, knowing that was probably true. He’d spent his entire time down there trying to figure a way out and had come up with nothing.  
“Am I supposed to be grateful?” he asked.  
“I didn’t do it for you.”  
“Figures,” Isaac smirked, “so what’s the plan now?”  
Nate paused, just watching the flames as they grew. He knew the cars were gone, along with anything in them or in the cabin. All they had were themselves, and they were very far away from anyone or anything.  
“We walk,” his eyebrows rose.  
“Walk?” Isaac repeated, “how far out are we?”  
“About a half hour. By car,” Nate reasoned, “I don’t know how long to walk it.”  
“Great,” Isaac said sarcastically, “and I don’t suppose you have the key for these?”  
Nate eyed the handcuffs.  
“Looks like Seth took everything I had and destroyed the rest, sorry,” he shrugged and immediately regretted it.  
“Great.”  
Isaac looked back at the cabin and sighed.  
“So can you walk, or not? What are your chances of making it out of here?”  
“I can walk, just give me a second.”  
Isaac ignored him and grabbed him by the other arm, pulling him from the ground and to his feet.


	62. 62

By the time Hudson had left, Zac was thoroughly confused. He certainly didn’t use the same training methods as Krüger, and he didn’t seem to want to instil fear in him like everyone else had.  
As he took the time to think about it, he was beginning to realise it was basically discipline through negative reinforcement. That was it.  
He looked up at the door as he heard a guy down the corridor letting loose at someone. Must have been a newbie. The shouting went on for some time before a loud bang was heard and the sound of someone collapsing to the ground followed. Zac assumed he must have been knocked out, because he was soon dragged away.  
Not having been fed yet Zac was trying to stay awake to save being rudely woken when it was time. However he was starting to doubt he’d be getting anything that day. He remembered back to Waco and how he hadn’t been able to eat until Taylor had joined him. He knew it was a completely different circumstance this time around considering he was owed to Fowler, but he couldn’t help but think he might be heading for a similar health status.  
He hadn’t been given any medication yet, either. That was more worrying than anything. Just because Krüger had known about it, didn’t mean that Seth did.  
Deciding to give up, Zac carefully shifted down onto his side. His wrists had been momentarily uncuffed toward the end of the session with Hudson, but the locks had been replaced before he’d left. Zac knew it was going to be awkward (not to mention painful) trying to get some sleep, but he didn’t like his chances of lasting until someone decided to pity him.  
It took some time – interrupted on occasion by noise from outside – but he eventually drifted off to sleep.  
  
*  
  
“We may have to have a bit of a celebration when we get back,” Seth looked between his travel companions with amusement before focusing on Taylor.  
“I know Jack in particular will be very excited to see you again.”  
Taylor’s eyes shot to Seth.  
“Is he okay?” he had to ask.  
He vaguely remembered seeing him through the window in the studio before he’d passed out, but it had been dark and he hadn’t seen the extent of his injuries. At least he knew he was alive.  
“You won’t be when he’s done with you,” Seth assured, not really giving Taylor the answer he’d wanted, “but he may have to get in line. I heard about you locking Kathryn in your room.”  
Taylor gulped slightly and diverted his gaze. He’d forgotten about her for the most part.  
Hopefully she’d be too angry with him to try anything further.  
“Not to mention the penance you must pay for Connor’s incarceration.”  
“I am so tired of getting the blame for all of this,” Taylor said suddenly, “maybe if you people weren’t taking part in illegal activity you wouldn’t always be getting arrested. How about that?”  
Taylor’s eyes shot to Seth as he slowly reached into the duffel and pulled out the Taser again. He immediately regretted speaking out.  
“How about you mind your God damn business?” Seth said in a low tone.  
Taylor held back arguing that it was very much his business when he appeared to be bearing the brunt of both their training and their aggravation over the media involvement.  
Seth waited to see if he’d retort before he set to studying the Taser.  
“Hey!” he called to the driver suddenly, “where are we? Are we out of Arkansas yet?”


	63. 63

“You’re lucky I’m right-handed.”  
“Just get on with it.”  
Isaac grimaced a little, trying not to watch as Nate lifted the large stone and slammed it down onto the chain of the handcuffs.  
“Are you sure this can’t wait? When we get out of here-“  
“I’m not walking another step in these things,” Isaac insisted, “so if you want me to make sure you get out of here alive, you’ll break the damn chain.”  
For a moment Nate looked like he was considering hitting Isaac over the head instead, but thought better of it. Taking a moment to hold his left shoulder before trying again, he lifted the rock and slammed it down onto an already slightly bent link.  
It broke.  
“Finally!” Isaac stretched his arms out before quickly crossing them.  
Minor movements he’d previously taken for granted.  
“Can we go now?” Nate grumbled, throwing the rock aside.  
“You were going to hit me with that. Why didn’t you?” Isaac frowned suddenly as they started walking again, “it’s not as if you don’t know your own way out of here.”  
“I promised Taylor nothing would happen to you,” Nate was back to holding his shoulder and watching carefully where he stepped in the dark.  
They only had the moonlight to go by.  
“You promised Tay?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose, “so your word might actually mean something after all?”  
Nate scowled, but Isaac didn’t see it.  
“I also need you as leverage,” he admitted.  
“Leverage?” Isaac repeated, “for what? To get Tay back?”  
When Nate didn’t reply, Isaac shook his head.  
“What makes you think when we get out of here that I won’t just dump you at the nearest hospital and go back to the military? And the hospital is only if I’m feeling generous.”  
“Taylor,” Nate replied, “you don’t know where he is.”  
“Seth has him, no one knows where he is,” Isaac hated to admit.  
“I do.”  
“What?” Isaac demanded, stopping in his tracks.  
Nate kept going. Eventually Isaac had to catch up.  
“You know where Seth’s taken him?” he asked.  
“I don’t _know_ know,” Nate admitted, “but I have a pretty good idea. I know where he lives, and I know where he trains. For the most part. I also know where Connor’s base is located, but I doubt he’s gone there. He would have gone home.”  
“Where’s home?”  
Nate scoffed.  
“If I told you that, I really wouldn’t have anything over you now would I?”  
Isaac grit his teeth in frustration but held back from saying anything.  
“Seems we need each other after all,” Nate smirked.  
“Guess I’d better keep you alive then,” Isaac quipped.  
“I guess you’d better.”


	64. 64

Isaac almost could have kissed the bitumen when they finally came across it. Almost.  
“Which way?” he asked, looking up and down the dark road barely illuminated by the moonlight.  
“I think we’d be better off to hitchhike,” Nate suggested, starting to walk to their right.  
“Oh sure,” Isaac began in a sarcastic tone, “I’m sure the casual middle-of-the-night driver would just love to have you bleeding all over their upholstery.”  
“Only truckers would be out here this late,” Nate scorned, “or road tripping teens who’ve gotten lost. Either way it’s an easy pick up.”  
“You’ve done this before,” Isaac realised.  
“Too many times,” Nate agreed.  
“Trouble keeping cars, huh? Fancy that.”  
Nate decided not to take the bait and continue on in silence instead.  
It was another good hour or so of walking before their first set of headlights came along. Isaac had been starting to wonder how Nate had gotten them so far out of town on a single tank of fuel.  
As the truck drew closer the two of them stood to the side of the road. In plain view of the lights, but not in the truck’s immediate path. The moment Isaac waved his arm they heard the air brakes go off.  
As the truck slowly came to a halt, Isaac made way to the driver’s side.  
“What you boys doin’ all the way out ‘ere?” he heard a voice call out.  
“Any chance we could get a ride?” Isaac called back, looking up to the driver.  
“Where you headed?”  
“Anywhere. Our car was totalled,” he lied, “which way are you headed?”  
“Out to Harrison then I’m doubling back. That far enough?”  
“That’s better than nothing, thank you,” Isaac nodded, “also my friend is injured.”  
He winced a little at the word ‘friend’ but he had to play the part.  
“Get on up,” the trucker insisted, “we’ll see what we can do about it.”  
“Thanks again!”  
Isaac walked around to where Nate had already reached up to open the door. He gave him a look of warning which made him stand aside, letting Isaac get up into the truck first. Once Isaac was up he reached a hand down to Nate, helping keep him steady as he climbed in behind him.  
“Anything that can’t wait ‘til we reach Harrison?” the trucker asked as Nate closed the door.  
“No,” Nate insisted.  
“Alrighty then.”  
The truck began to move out. It was a further couple of hours to Harrison and the trucker thankfully kept his questions to a minimum, seeming to take Isaac’s broken car explanation as gospel.  
When they got into town the trucker offered to drop them at the North Arkansas Medical Center. To Isaac’s surprise, Nate agreed. It was around three or four in the morning by the time they got there, thanking the trucker for the ride as they were dropped off out front.  
“Just going to walk in with a bullet wound?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose as they watched the truck leave.  
“No,” Nate scorned, disappearing to the left.  
Isaac frowned but followed. By the time he caught up with him Nate had already broken in and started hotwiring the nearest car.  
“Nate, maybe you should at least get checked out?” he suggested, “bullet or not, there’s every chance you could bleed out. And I do need you alive.”  
“There’s no time,” Nate insisted as the car started, “we’ve got a fourteen hour drive ahead of us.”


	65. 65

It was mid-afternoon and the back of the van stank of sweat by the time Seth arrived in Chadron. Taylor couldn’t see anything as they were taken in, but he heard a roller door like Krüger’s closing on them before the back of the van was opened.  
The amount of men waiting for them set his nerves on edge already. The AK-47s some of them were sporting didn’t help.  
When he was pulled out, rough hands took him to the side of the van before forcing him down onto his knees. Seth soon appeared behind him.  
“Orders?” one of them asked.  
“Get him a belt,” Seth responded, as Taylor finally managed to pull his eyes from the hardware surrounding him, “and once he’s done, I want him-“  
“Creed!” came a yell from the other side of the garage, making their heads turn.  
“What?!” Seth demanded, obviously out of patience after the arduous journey.  
“Sorry to interrupt,” the bearded newcomer came to rest beside him before pointing over his shoulder, “recruits came in a few hours ago. I assumed you’d want to process them yourself?”  
While he was distracted Taylor did a quick count. There were five armed guards, as well as the four who’d been in the front and back of the van. Seth and the newcomer made eleven.  
When there was a moment of silence, he jumped a little when he realised Seth was staring at him.  
“Yes, I will,” he replied, “in fact I’ll do it now. Bring Taylor along, I’d like to set an example.”  
Taylor frowned as he was pulled to his feet again.  
“Though he does have to go that way anyway. Where are they?”  
“I’ll have them brought into the green room,” the newcomer nodded before turning to leave.  
“Thank you Hudson,” Seth called after him, before signalling with his hands.  
The two who’d decided to escort him pulled Taylor along by the arms, stopping suddenly as Seth turned back before the doorway.  
“Gag him,” Seth looked between them, “we don’t want him giving them any ideas. This one has a way of getting into your head.”  
He tapped his temple for emphasis as Taylor just frowned further. One of them – who’d been carrying Nate’s duffel – dropped it to the ground and began rifling through it. As Seth left the garage the man came across the cloth Nate had previously used on him and quickly and securely tied it around Taylor’s mouth. Object achieved, they followed Seth out.  
Taylor could hear yelling from down the corridor straight away. Seth was already out of sight, but he was soon pulled through a door to his left and into a stark white tiled room. The grout in the tiles was the only giveaway to the room’s true purpose.  
When he was pulled over to a side wall as Seth paced in the centre, Taylor figured they were waiting for the ‘recruits’. This ought to be interesting.  
It didn’t take long before multiple armed guards brought a group of teenagers into the room. Four boys and one blonde girl. At least two of the boys were causing a ruckus.  
When the door closed Seth cleared his throat.  
“SHUT UP!” he yelled, before firing a single bullet from his handgun into the ceiling.  
He caught the kids’ attention.  
“What the heck do you want, man?!” the one who seemed to be the alpha male demanded.  
“Right now, I want you to shut your mouth,” Seth insisted, holding the gun ready above his shoulder.  
The kids looked between each other before the girl caught sight of Taylor. He saw her lose colour.


	66. 66

“Guys… that’s Taylor Hanson,” she suddenly blurted.  
Taylor’s eyes darted to Seth, worried that her outburst would get her hurt. Seth gave him a glance but simply smiled back at her.  
“You’re right, he is,” he confirmed, “does that tell you all you need to know?”  
“Who the heck is Taylor Hanson?” one of the boys couldn’t help himself.  
“Apparently not,” Seth’s eyebrows rose.  
Taylor saw at least two of the boys staring at him in fear. He felt his cheeks flushing red, wishing he could at least lie to them and tell them it would be okay.  
“For those who haven’t seen the news, nor seen my face splashed across it…” Seth shot Taylor a glare before continuing, “my name is Seth and I will be your host for the foreseeable future. As of right now you’d do best at forgetting what vestiges of a life you’ve previously inhabited, and focus your efforts solely on creating your new ones here and now.”  
“What do you mean?” one of the kids asked, soon receiving a blow across the jaw.  
Taylor barely flinched.  
“Speak only when spoken to,” Seth lay down the first order, “get them on their knees.”  
Some of the kids were forced down, others were hit at the back of the knee. But they all complied.  
“What gives you the right, huh?!” the alpha suddenly exploded, “you’re toying with peoples’ lives! What are you gonna do, beat us until we do anything you say?!”  
Seth looked to the guard standing behind the kid.  
“He’s been like this since we picked them up,” the man shrugged.  
“Right. Well four out of five wasn’t too bad.”  
Seth lowered his gun and shot the kid straight in the head. As blood sprayed across the two boys either side of him, his friends took a moment to register what had happened. The girl screamed, and one of the other boys fell backwards and scrambled to one of the walls. Taylor just closed his eyes.  
“Oh I’m sorry,” Seth stepped over to the girl, still waving the gun dangerously, “was he your boyfriend?”  
Eyeing the gun, the girl nodded. Afraid of what would happen if she didn’t respond.  
“Makes sense,” Seth shrugged, eyeing the guard who was now relieved of his duty, “tell you what…”  
Seth crouched in front of her and waited until she made eye contact.  
“How about I make it up to you?” he asked, “how about… I give you Taylor?”  
The girl covered her mouth with her hands as she began sobbing. Taylor just stared at Seth in disbelief as he rose to his feet again.  
“Of course Taylor needs to go into isolation for about a week or so, but until then I’m sure some of my boys wouldn’t mind keeping you company.”  
“You pig!” one of the other boys spat.  
Seth ignored him, but began going down the line of the remaining three. He paused at the one who’d spoken.  
“Prep this one for surgery,” he nodded to his handler.  
“What?!” the kid began to freak as Taylor’s eyes widened, realising what was happening.  
“The other two can stay,” Seth assured, “get them out of my sight.”  
“What about this one?” one of the men holding Taylor asked.  
“I want him tagged,” Seth ordered, “and the wound in his side needs stitching. I’ll come with until you get the belt on him.”


	67. 67

Taylor groaned at the pain in his hip as he was pulled from the room and led further down the entrance corridor. It wasn’t until he was led into a room that looked like a substandard operating theatre that his gag was removed.  
“What do you mean ‘tagged’?” Taylor fretted straight away.  
“I mean…” Seth began in a bored tone, “that as nice as it is to have role models, you probably shouldn’t stake all your faith in the likes of Richard McNair.”  
“Who?” Taylor frowned, watching as a man in a lab coat came toward him.  
When Taylor saw he had a needle in his hands he immediately backed off.  
“Whoa, whoa,” one of his escorts grabbed his shoulder tightly, right over one of Nate’s wounds.  
Taylor hissed through his teeth at the pain as the other escort took a pair of scissors from nearby and began cutting off the left arm of his shirt.  
“Richard McNair,” Seth went on as if nothing had happened, “one of the best – if not _the_ best – escape artists in America’s history. I believe he and Nate were bunk buddies for a time.”  
Taylor tried to pull away as the needle got closer but it was already two to one and he was still weak. The needle went in, and Taylor began to panic.  
“What does that mean?” his eyes searched Seth’s as Seth continued to pace nearby.  
If he wanted him to work as a recruiter they couldn’t amputate a leg or anything at least.  
“Do I have to spell everything out for you?” Seth frowned.  
He turned to a nearby table, and after checking with one of the surgeons picked up a small bullet-shaped object about half an inch in length. Taylor stared at it as he felt his arm start to numb.  
“No way…” he shook his head as he realised.  
“This marvellous little piece of technology will allow us to zoom in on your exact location from anywhere on the planet,” Seth informed him proudly, “quite enterprising. It doesn’t need batteries or anything.”  
He set it back on the tray surrounded by surgical tools as Taylor felt his heart begin to race. He suddenly struggled to pull his arms away from his escorts, and with a nod from Seth they let him go.  
“You can’t do this,” Taylor felt like whatever hope he had left was running out the door.  
“You left me no choice,” Seth hit back, “untie him and get him on the table.”  
Taylor let them take the belt from his wrists, but when he went to fight them off afterward found that his arms wouldn’t do what he wanted them to. Knowing it was the drug taking effect, he tried to at least stay out of their reach until he couldn’t move any further.  
“You’ll also begin to notice…” Seth began in a sinister tone, “that it wasn’t a sedative you were just injected with.”  
“What?” Taylor’s eyes narrowed, unable to fight off the next advance.  
The escorts took him by the shoulders and roughly forced him up onto the table. Taylor was finding it increasingly hard to move as his left arm was strapped into place and Seth looked down at him from the right.  
“It was a paralytic,” a cruel smile played on Seth’s lips, “I want you awake for this.”  
Taylor caught the shine from a clean blade and looked to the left just in time to see it pierce the skin of his forearm. Needing to scream out at the pain, his eyes only watered when he realised he already couldn’t.  
Seth handed the tracking beacon to the surgeon before leaning over the table slightly.  
“This, my boy, was worth the wait,” he smiled contentedly.


	68. 68

“Is it working?” Seth asked as the surgeon worked to stitch the wound in Taylor’s arm.  
“It should be operational,” he replied, “go ahead and try it.”  
Seth pulled out his palm pilot. Taylor could hear the keys being pressed, but he couldn’t turn his eyes to see what Seth was doing. He could barely make out the black shape in his peripheral that told him Seth was there.  
“According to this… he’s here,” Seth confirmed, “it appears I may have to conduct some tests further out.”  
“At least wait until it heals over,” the surgeon insisted.  
“How long?”  
“At least a week, maybe two. That’s earliest.”  
Seth sighed dejectedly.  
“Fine. I was planning to put him in isolation anyway.”  
Taylor was desperately trying to move his fingers. Trying to move _anything_. Nothing would.  
He wished he could at least blink as the surgeon finished with his arm and pulled aside the left side of his shirt.  
“Sorry about that,” Seth apologised to him, “had to work with what we had. It bled in the van.”  
Taylor could do nothing as the tape was slowly pulled away from his skin. For a moment it distracted from the pain in his arm, but it didn’t last long.  
The surgeon clicked his tongue thoughtfully as he began to inspect the wound, including testing its depth. If Taylor could vomit he would have, but it appeared even his internal organs were paralysed.  
“How bad is it?” Seth asked, leaning over slightly where Taylor could barely make out his face.  
He actually looked concerned, but Taylor couldn’t concentrate on it.  
“It’s bad,” the surgeon confirmed, “but there’s no infection at least. Surprising, but not uncommon. I’ll cauterise it and give him a few stitches and he should be good to go.”  
“Minus the week of recovery?”  
“It should work for both.”  
“Fine,” Seth stood back out of Taylor’s eye line again, “will a binder do?”  
“An open binder will be fine.”  
“Go get one,” Seth nodded to one of Taylor’s escorts.  
Taylor felt the stitches go into his gut one by one. He was almost done by the time he heard footsteps returning. When the surgeon was finished, he was sat up almost straight away.  
“Hold him,” Seth instructed.  
The surgeon held Taylor’s chest as he was leant forward slightly. Behind him, he felt his arms slipping through leather straps. Realising something like what he’d first seen Jack in was going onto his arms, he panicked a little in his head but couldn’t relay any of it on the outside. Once his arms were secure his escorts made preparations to carry him. Seth stopped them.  
“The belt,” he held out an arm just out of Taylor’s view.  
Taylor felt it go on, but he couldn’t get a look at it. It felt like it had something heavy attached to it.  
Once it was on, the escorts finally carried him from the room. Taylor couldn’t see where he was going, all he saw were the lights down the corridor. When he could hear shouts getting closer, he knew he was being taken to a holding cell somewhere near the others.  
Inside he was dumped onto his side on the floor before all but Seth left him alone. He came closer.  
“I’ll be back to speak with you once it’s worn off,” he assured, before leaving the cell himself.


	69. 69

The second time Nate almost lost control of the car, Isaac took hold of the steering wheel.  
“Let it go,” Nate scowled.  
“No, I’ve had enough,” Isaac insisted, “I’m not letting you kill both of us. You’re crashing, you need to pull over. And we need to get you to a hospital.”  
Nate groaned but pulled over onto the shoulder. They’d barely made it through Lincoln so Isaac was already considering turning back.  
When the car came to a stop and Nate didn’t move, Isaac sighed in frustration.  
“Can’t you just tell me where we’re going?” he practically pleaded, “what happens if you die before we get there? I’ll never find him then. Would you rather Seth have him than me?”  
“No,” Nate assured, rubbing his forehead tiredly.  
Isaac noticed the sweat beading on it but didn’t say anything.  
“Get out of the car,” he ordered, opening his own door.  
It took until he was around at the driver’s side for Nate to actually get out.  
“Lay down in the back,” Isaac insisted, opening the back door for him.  
Nate gave him a glare, not appreciating the tone he’d started taking with him. But too weak to argue, he did as Isaac said.  
Isaac closed the door behind him before getting into the driver’s seat. He wasted no time in getting the car started again before turning and heading back for Lincoln.  
He remembered seeing signs pointing to a hospital as they’d gone through, and headed back the way they’d come in the hopes of seeing them again. Eventually he did, and he soon pulled the car up at the BryanLGH Medical Center.   
Not caring about leaving the stolen car unattended, Isaac got out and opened the door for Nate. Once he had him out he practically manhandled him into the emergency ward.  
A nurse on duty took one look at him and came rushing over.  
“What happened?!” she exclaimed, trying to help Nate walk in.  
“Hunting accident,” was the first thing that came to mind, “we only just found our way out, but it happened last night. We got here as soon as we could.”  
The nurse called for backup as Nate gave Isaac a condescending look. He just shrugged.  
Nate was led through to a ward and given a bed straight away. Isaac was handed some paperwork which he ignored as he watched them carefully pull Nate’s jacket and shirt off.  
“Sorry Sir, but you’ll have to wait out in the waiting room…”  
Isaac jumped as the warden tapped him on the shoulder.  
“Oh, sorry,” Isaac looked back at Nate, really not wanting to let him out of his sight.  
He didn’t know him well enough to know that he wouldn’t run at first opportunity. Begrudgingly, he followed instructions and left the ward.  
As soon as he walked out, he froze. There were police in the waiting room.  
Obviously there for another reason, Isaac tried not to be obvious as he ducked into the bathroom. Still holding the clipboard he avoided eye contact with anyone and headed into one of the stalls.  
Stopping to take a deep breath, he took in his situation.   
With the way that Nate looked, he didn’t like their chances of getting out of there anytime soon. He could even be in there for a few days if need be. He needed to come up with a better cover story and some fake identification as soon as possible.  
Or did he? Maybe this was the chance he needed to get the military back on board?


	70. 70

Taylor slowly felt the sensation creeping back into his extremities, but it had been an awfully long time of not even being able to stop himself breathing in dirt from the floor. As soon as he could, he fought the pull of the drugs enough to cough it out and roll onto his right side.  
The very moment he started groaning, he heard a set of footsteps walking away from the door. With a nervous gulp he realised someone must have been waiting there this entire time to find out when he could move again in order to go and notify Seth.  
His fears were realised when not long after the door opened and Seth entered. As the door closed behind him Taylor tried to push himself up but he wasn’t yet strong enough to sit up.  
“Oh no, don’t get up on account of me,” Seth assured, coming to stand just in front of him so that Taylor was forced to look up at him.  
“Have I paid yet?” he managed to croak out, unable to think of anything worse for Seth to put him through.  
“Oh Lord no,” Seth brushed over, “but don’t worry, that’s kind’ve what I’m here to talk to you about.”  
He crouched down so that Taylor wouldn’t have to strain his neck to see. It was only then that Taylor registered something in his hand.  
“You see this?” he said softly, turning it over.  
It looked like a car key, and was about the same size.  
“This is the remote for that belt you’re wearing. Have you heard of the REACT belts before?”  
Taylor began to look worried, but he knew he’d better reply.  
“No, I haven’t,” he admitted, wondering what he was in for.  
“Well it stands for a ‘Remote Electronically-Activated Control Technology’ belt. They used to use them in prisons, you see. To control their most unruly inhabitants. Fortunately for our criminal population they were outlawed not too many years ago because Amnesty International decided it was purely a torture device and had no place in the modern world.”  
Taylor cringed a little, feeling the pull in his stitches as he tried to twist his arms. He wasn’t sure where Seth was going with this but he was sure he didn’t want to know.  
“You see, what it does is send about fifty kilovolts of electricity straight into your kidneys. Supposedly very painful. And all I need to do is press this little button here…” Seth tapped the small red dot in front of Taylor’s eyes, “shall we try it out?”  
“No,” Taylor suggested hopefully, citing no reason for him to yet.  
“No?” Seth looked surprised.  
His finger hit the button. Seth had been right, the pain was excruciating. It lasted a whole eight seconds, but it might as well have been eight hours. When it was over Taylor continued to cry out for some time before pulling himself together when Seth reached over to take him by the hair.  
“You see, hurting you is something I intend to do a lot,” Seth informed him, “your penance has not yet begun to be paid. So I’ll tell you what I’m going to do.”  
When Seth let him go Taylor dug his face into the concrete floor, trying to focus on anything but the sharp pain still in his back. And his arm. And his hip.  
“I’m going to leave this remote on the outside of the door to your cell,” Seth stepped away slightly, “and anytime one of my associates passes by this room, they have the option of pressing the button if they so wish. Is that okay with you?”  
Before Taylor could reply Seth hit the button again.


	71. 71

Taylor almost felt relieved when the door closed behind Seth, but knowing what was going on just on the other side prevented him from calming down.  
He could clearly hear Seth’s voice instructing who he could only assume was his assigned guard on where to put the remote and what to do with it.  
“You don’t want to gag him?” the guard asked.  
“No. I want to hear everything,” was Seth’s response.  
“What about his sutures? You don’t think the belt will disrupt the healing process?”  
“It probably will,” Seth reasoned, “but I really don’t care. He’ll heal eventually and we have plenty of time on our hands. But if you start seeing pools of blood appearing all over the floor, call me.”  
As Seth’s footsteps began to disappear down the corridor, Taylor tried pushing on his legs again to try and sit himself up.  
“Make sure you keep him fed and watered,” he heard Seth call back, followed by some sort of reference to a girl.  
Taylor couldn’t quite make out what he’d said, but he knew it had to have been about the blonde girl that had been ‘recruited’ that day. Thinking it over it took him a moment to realise there were eyes looking through the small barred window in the door, but as soon as he made eye contact he felt the belt ignite for a third time.  
As he came down from it he heard the guard laughing before stepping aside. The attack giving him a slight surge of adrenaline meant that Taylor could finally push himself up into a sit, but he couldn’t lean back against the wall with his arms where they were. Instead he was forced to lean forward slightly, the position pulling on the stitches in his hip.  
The sight of the black stitching that closed the angry wound was alone enough to make him feel nauseas.  
It wasn’t long before he heard a commotion in the hallway, followed by another cell door opening. The cries were unmistakable – they belonged to that girl.   
Wishing he had enough strength to pull himself to his feet he could only listen as she was continually hit for crying before being thrown into one of the nearby cells. Possibly the one directly across from his.  
That would be typical Seth. Now she’d have to hear him whenever someone pressed the remote as well. To Taylor’s relief, during this visit no one did.  
He heard the cell door close and lock as the girl’s tormentors walked away. He could only assume his guard was still outside, but he remained deathly quiet as if to pretend he wasn’t.   
Looking up at the door again for only the second time to check if he could see the guard, Taylor suddenly noticed something above it. It was only small, but it was obviously a camera.  
Bringing his right knee up a little to try and alleviate the pressure on his left hip, he lowered his eyes again. Obviously Seth still wasn’t willing to let him out of his sight, even with the tracking device now in his arm.  
It really was beginning to feel like the end of the line.  
Feeling his eyes start to well up again he squeezed them shut and tried not to focus on the hopelessness of the situation. The binder was something he could already tell he wouldn’t be getting out of – obviously their way of making sure he couldn’t play with his stitches. But they couldn’t keep it on him forever. There was no window in the cell, only a door, which meant he was probably situated somewhere central in the building. The door would be his only chance, and it was guarded.


	72. 72

Isaac had finally returned to the waiting room sometime later. The police had come and gone a few times as he waited, but no one so much as gave him a second glance. Obviously no one was expecting to find the eldest Hanson brother in eastern Nebraska.   
Every time the nurse appeared Isaac’s head shot up, but she was never looking for him. He began to wonder if maybe Nate had died and they’d just forgotten to notify the guy who’d brought him in.  
He knew he’d been in the waiting room for at least three hours by the time the nurse did finally nod in his direction. He shot to his feet and made his way over.  
“Is he okay?” he asked, for the hundredth time not believing how concerned he actually was.  
“Your friend has just woken up. You can see him now.”  
“Woken up?” Isaac frowned, starting to follow her through, “what do you mean? He was awake when I brought him in!”  
“His blood pressure crashed and he fell unconscious for a time,” the nurse explained.  
Isaac held back any reaction to the irony of that.  
“But he has recovered well. The bullet was removed from his inside shoulder with only slight muscle damage. He should recover just fine.”  
“How long will he need to be in here?” Isaac kept an eye out for his bed.  
“We’d like to monitor him for at least three days. Considering what caused the wound the police have been notified, but after a small amount of paperwork you should be clear to go.”  
Isaac tried not to react to that either. The longer he could avoid talking to the police, the better.  
They soon came across Nate’s bed. He made to sit up slightly when he saw Isaac, but was soon pushed down again by his attending nurse and told to stay.  
Isaac waited until they both left before coming to the side of the bed.  
“What did you tell them?” Nate looked up at him.  
“Nothing, yet,” Isaac scratched his head, “but I hear the cops want to have a word.”  
“You shouldn’t have brought me here,” Nate groaned, closing his eyes as his head hit the pillow.  
“I didn’t have a choice,” Isaac insisted, “don’t worry, we’ll come up with something. You’ll be out of here in a few days.”  
“Speaking of…” Nate looked up at him again, “I’ve been thinking about what happens after.”  
“After what?”  
“After we break Taylor out,” Nate went on, “we’re going to need to do more than just run. I spoke to Seth before he shot me and to say he was pissed would be an understatement.”  
Isaac didn’t reply, wondering what that meant for Taylor.  
“I think we need to do something he won’t expect,” Nate added.  
“Like what?” Isaac relented, “you sound like you almost have a plan already.”  
“Maybe I do,” Nate shrugged a little, “but you’ll need to head back to Tulsa.”  
“What? Why?” Isaac quickly checked over his shoulder to make sure no one heard the reference.  
“I had fake passports made up for myself and Taylor in case a situation like this came up,” Nate began to explain, “unfortunately they were destroyed along with the cabin. Myself? I have a few more stashed away. But you guys will need your own.”  
“Passports?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose, “you want us to go _overseas_?”  
“It’s the last thing Seth will expect,” Nate reasoned.  
“And where exactly do you think we should go?” Isaac demanded.  
“I know just the place,” Nate couldn’t help but smile slightly.


	73. 73

Isaac left the hospital without much of an argument. He knew Nate wouldn’t be going anywhere for some time, and he’d conned one of the nurses into calling his home number if anything happened. For now, he had a seven hour drive back to Tulsa to contemplate what he was going to tell Zac about what he was doing. Not to mention the military guard that was no doubt keeping an eye on him.  
Hopefully he wouldn’t be picked up for the stolen car on the way.  
Knowing he was almost at the point where he’d be desperate for sleep soon, he knew he’d have to pull over at some point after Salina. It felt so close to Tulsa but he didn’t intend to crash as soon as he got home.  
Opting to pull off onto the side of the road instead of finding a motel – he didn’t have any money on him anyway – he soon found somewhere to rest and set to trying to fall asleep in the car. His worries clouded his mind which made it hard, but exhaustion soon took over and he finally fell asleep.

*

By the time Isaac awoke it was well and truly dark again. He’d left the hospital about mid-afternoon, pulled the car over at about seven, and now according to the car’s clock it was just after midnight.  
He wasn’t sure if Zac would appreciate the wakeup call or not, but he began to head home all the same. He’d get a proper sleep once Taylor had been found. Maybe even on the plane.  
Convincing Zac that they needed to go to France was going to be the highlight of his night, for sure.  
It was another three hours or so before Isaac pulled into Taylor’s street. It was the last place they’d all been together, so he was hoping Zac would still be on lockdown there.   
When he pulled up at the curb in front of Taylor’s house, his eyebrows rose. There weren’t many lights on but he could certainly make out the damage to the front of the house.  
“Wow,” he breathed, taking in the remnants of Zac’s car beside Taylor’s.  
It made him wonder what had happened to his. As far as he knew it was still at 3CG.  
Knowing he at least couldn’t leave without Taylor’s passport, he checked the car over to see if it had a flashlight. Coming up empty he got out regardless and began up to the house. The next thing to stop him in his tracks was seeing the front door slightly ajar. Even if there’d been no one there, it should have been left locked.  
Carefully walking through and preparing to turn off the alarm, he stopped at the sight of the hallway. The kitchen light had been left on which was all he could see by, and the house was in an absolute mess.  
Not to mention the bullet holes in the walls.  
Knowing for sure now that no one was here, he didn’t bother calling out on his way in. Obviously someone had come for Zac. He just hoped the soldiers were able to get him away in time.  
As he stepped through over broken wood and glass he made his way toward where he knew Taylor kept his personal effects. Glad that the electricity was still working in what appeared to be a war zone, he had no reservations about turning on the lights to see.  
Sifting through a few drawers, figuring Taylor would have it somewhere nearby because of their regular touring, he breathed a sigh of relief when he found it practically straight away.  
One down, two to go.  
He made his way back through the house, pausing for a moment when he saw a dark stain on the carpet in the hallway. He knew it was blood, but it wasn’t red. That meant it had been there a while.  
“What the heck happened here?” he asked himself, looking around dumbfounded.  
Deciding not to waste any further time, he headed out to the car and made a line for Zac’s house.


	74. 74

When Isaac pulled up outside Zac’s house, it also looked as if no one were home. Not having a cell phone on him he couldn’t call to check, but he decided to ring the doorbell just in case.  
There was no movement from inside. Quickly checking over his shoulder before finding the hidden key, he let himself in and turned off the alarm before switching on the lights. At least Zac’s home was in one piece.  
He made his way through to where he thought Zac would keep his passport and tried to be neat as he sifted through the mounds of paperwork.   
It took longer, but he eventually found it.   
Target acquired, he made his way into the kitchen. He’d been wondering why Zac wouldn’t be there when both Seth and Nate were obviously after their hides, but he was beginning to think the military had taken him somewhere more secure after what had happened to him and Taylor. Figuring they’d at least let him have his phone, he made for the landline in the kitchen. Setting the passport aside he quickly dialled Zac’s cell number.  
It rang for a long time, but someone eventually picked up.  
“Zac?!” Isaac exclaimed before anything could be said, “Zac, it’s me!”  
“Who is this?”  
The voice didn’t belong to Zac. Isaac felt the colour drain from his face as he immediately expected the worst.  
“I could ask the same thing,” Isaac wasn’t yet sure if he were talking to friend or foe.  
“Is that Isaac?”  
When Isaac didn’t respond in the moment of silence that followed, he heard an aggravated sigh.  
“Isaac it’s Devon. If that’s you, you need to tell me where you are right now.”  
“Devon?” Isaac frowned, “why are you answering Zac’s phone? Where is he?”  
“Seth came for him. They got him,” Devon revealed.  
“Dammit,” Isaac cursed, “how long ago?”  
“Few days at least,” Devon replied, “Isaac where are you? What’s the status of Devereux? And where is Taylor?”  
“Seth’s got Taylor,” Isaac returned, “he found us and took him.”  
“We’ll get the details of everything when we catch up with you,” Devon assured, “now _where are you_?”  
Isaac paused, his mind racing.  
If Seth had Zac, that meant he’d be with Taylor. Only Nate knew where they were. If the army found Nate, they’d cart him away for interrogation. Odds were fifty/fifty that he would talk.  
He couldn’t let the army find Nate.  
Considering he was calling Zac’s cell from Zac’s house, he knew they’d know where he was any second already. He had to get out of there.  
“Isaac?” Devon’s voice came again, snapping him out of it.  
He hung up.  
Bolting for the front door, he made sure to quickly lock up and replace the key before getting down to the car. Once in he wasted no time in heading for his own house, silently praying Nikki wasn’t home.  
His prayers were answered, and he began to suspect that all three families were now under military watch. Wasting no time he barely looked around before racing inside and collecting his passport.


	75. 75

As he was about to leave, Isaac froze by the door.  
His car keys sat nearby.  
Knowing his car would at least be faster than the stolen one (and he didn’t have to worry about legitimately driving it) he grabbed the keys and locked the front door before heading to the garage.  
His car was definitely there, but it wasn’t as he’d left it. There was a large dent in the passenger side back door, and the tail end looked like it had hit a pole. But it seemed driveable at least.  
Figuring that if the military were going to try and track him that they’d eventually find street footage of the stolen car and put two and two together, he knew he’d have to get rid of that first.  
Leaving the garage open he ran down to the car, getting in and starting it up. He took it to the end of the street where he precariously parked it on someone’s verge before grabbing the three passports and getting out to walk back home.  
Once home he went straight to his car. Thinking better and hitting himself on the head for not thinking of it sooner, he quickly went back into the house and grabbed the hidden credit card used only in emergencies. That done he returned to the car and quickly backed out of the garage, closing it up before continuing on his way.  
He headed back for Lincoln.

*

Zac looked up tiredly as he heard the door to his cell being unbolted.  
It was day three of his incarceration and he still hadn’t been given any medication. He also hadn’t been given a chance to even ask about it. So as soon as Hudson stepped through the door this time Zac cleared his throat.  
“Hudson? I need to ask you something,” he said straight away.  
“It can wait until the end of the session,” Hudson waved him off, setting his briefcase down as the door closed and locked behind him.  
“I’m afraid it can’t,” Zac’s voice gave away how worried he was to even ask, “I need medication.”  
Hudson paused, before looking across at him curiously.  
“Medication?” he repeated, “I’m afraid we offer no pain killers here. That would defeat the purpose.”  
“No,” Zac shook his head, “medication. Krüger gave Fowler a lifetime supply when I was transferred. I had a lung transplant ten years ago. I have a scar, you can check.”  
Hudson considered it before he stepped forward. Zac waited patiently – knowing what he was doing – as Hudson lifted the front of his shirt and eyed the large surgical scar with interest.  
“So I see,” he said finally.  
“I don’t know if Seth knows the prescription,” Zac went on, “but I’m sure it was in my file.”  
“We can contact Fowler if need be,” Hudson assured as he straightened Zac’s shirt again.  
“Thank you,” Zac said sincerely as Hudson stood again.  
“I will ask Seth about it myself when we’re done,” he promised, walking back over to the briefcase.  
Zac watched as he unlocked it before producing the keys to his cuffs. Realising the session was going ahead regardless, he pulled himself up onto his knees and let Hudson unlock the cuffs.  
“When will I prove myself enough to not have to wear these?” Zac asked softly, his shoulders aching.  
“Hold your questions until the end of the session,” Hudson held up a finger to make the point, “but it is Seth’s personal request that you wear them, so you never will prove yourself enough I’m afraid.”  
Zac lowered his eyes dejectedly as he waited for Hudson to begin.


	76. 76

By the time Isaac returned to the hospital it was after lunchtime. He debated sleeping in the car before going in, but simply hid the passports in the glove box before making his move.  
He had to walk around a while before he found Nate. They’d moved him, but Isaac hadn’t known if he’d stuck with the fake name he’d given him or not. Turned out he had.  
“You’re back,” Nate’s eyebrows rose when he saw him walk in.  
“You’re surprised?” Isaac frowned, coming to sit in the chair by the bed.  
“I figured you’d send someone else,” Nate admitted, “like the army.”  
“The thought had crossed my mind,” Isaac admitted, “but I still need you to find Taylor. And Zac.”  
“Zac?” Nate frowned suddenly.  
“Yeah…” Isaac rubbed his hands together, “turns out Seth took him a few days ago. So he has both of them now.”  
Nate sighed and hit his head back on the pillow.   
“On the plus I got all three of our passports, so whenever you’ve done what you’re planning to do…”  
“You want to take Zac with us?” Nate gave him a scornful look.  
“Of course I do,” Isaac returned it, “I’m not just gonna leave him with Seth. I know you only care about Taylor, but there _are_ three of us involved in this you know.”  
“Whatever,” Nate rolled his eyes, looking back to the ceiling.  
“So what exactly _is_ your plan?” Isaac demanded, annoyed at the way he brushed it off, “you think you can take on an entire base – including Seth Creed – and just walk out with Taylor in tow?”  
“Not quite,” Nate admitted, “but something like that.”  
“Have you done it before?” Isaac’s eyes narrowed.  
“Not exactly. But I got to you, didn’t I?”  
Isaac hesitated before leaning forward.  
“How exactly did you do that?” he frowned, “I mean I was hit out straight away almost, but Tay told me Seth’s guys practically had us. How did you manage to turn that in your favour?”  
“I know a trick or two,” Nate shrugged, wincing a little as he moved the wrong shoulder.  
“That tells me nothing,” Isaac scorned, “what did you do, tranquilise them like you did us? And Zac was like five minutes away, how did he not catch you?”  
“Zac was delayed. Somehow he got a flat tyre,” Nate’s tone implied he knew exactly how it had happened, “I had plenty of time to dose them with enough to get you guys out of there. One of them was really not happy with Taylor. I think he shot him or something, because he was bleeding everywhere.”  
“He did have a gun with him,” Isaac remembered, “a lot of good it did in the end.”  
“I took the gun,” Nate admitted, “if it wasn’t destroyed I’m going to go ahead and assume Seth has it now.”   
“Then at least it’s in Taylor’s range,” Isaac mused.  
“Why did Taylor keep it?” Nate asked curiously, “I recognised it as Krüger’s. He used it in his training sessions.”  
“We don’t know,” Isaac admitted, “it’s something I guess he just wasn’t ready to let go of. I believe Krüger did shoot him with it at least once, but that’s all I really know. He won’t talk about it.”  
“Interesting,” Nate said thoughtfully, “I wonder if Krüger did break the barrier to Stockholm…”  
“Excuse me?” Isaac’s ears perked.  
“Nothing, nothing,” Nate brushed off, the thoughtful look still on his face.


	77. 77

Taylor felt himself waking up as he heard someone noisily coming down the corridor. He couldn’t tell if they were yelling or singing at first, but as his mind cleared he made it out as awful singing.  
Groaning slightly, he managed to push himself up into a sitting position again. He’d found that if he leant his shoulder and head against the side wall it took some of the pressure from both his back and his damaged hip.   
Once he was up he kept his eye on the small window in the door as he heard a bolt being undone. When the creak of the door opening followed it, he realised it wasn’t his door that was moving… it was the one across from him.  
He closed his eyes as he heard the girl whimper. It was obviously someone she didn’t want to see.  
When he heard what the man snarkily said to her, he had to grit his teeth. He only now realised that not only would she hear his yells any time someone pressed the button on the remote, but he’d have to hear everything that happened to her as well. And he knew all too well what he was about to audibly witness.  
Knowing that he couldn’t even block it out, he tried to concentrate on something else instead. He’d seen what the inside of the building looked like as he’d been led in. He knew the cell doors were at least bolted, possibly locked in a similar way to the room at Krüger’s house too.   
He knew the direction from his cell to the operating theatre, if it could be called that. And from there to the ‘green room’ which was actually white. That was barely two doors from the garage which held the roller door to the outside.  
He didn’t know if the property had any sort of boundary or fence, as they hadn’t slowed anywhere on the way into the garage.  
Distracted as the girl screamed, he opened his eyes to see the guard looking in on him again. The window was only big enough to see his eyes, but even so Taylor could tell the man was smiling.  
“Got something you want to say about it?” he teased suddenly.  
“Go screw yourself,” Taylor glared, knowing it was coming anyway.  
As the shock from the belt hit, he fell backwards onto his arms before rolling onto his right side. When he’d had a moment to recover he saw that the eyes were still there.  
“Temper, temper,” the man tsked before stepping aside.  
Taylor groaned as he debated whether or not to push himself up again. In the end, he did. He wasn’t ready to stand up yet but he’d been slowly working up to it. He already didn’t know how long he’d been there, and it seemed that any time he’d manage to fall asleep he’d be rudely awoken by the remote being pressed.  
His guard was certainly sadistic, but it also happened when random footsteps would pass. He couldn’t feel safe at any moment which he guessed was the idea.  
With a glare at the camera he settled back into his previous position against the wall. He knew Seth was probably watching for his reaction to what was going on in the opposite cell.  
As he continued to be forced to listen in, he twisted his wedding ring around his finger and tried to think of home. Glad his body obstructed the view from the camera. He wasn’t sure if Seth realised that he still had it, or if he just didn’t care. The second option seemed less likely. If Krüger had made such a big deal about it both times, there had to be a rhyme to the reason.  
It took some time before the torment was over. When the man left in a flurry of chuckles, Taylor was tempted for a moment to call out to her and tell her to just hold on.  
How he wished he just knew her name.


	78. 78

Isaac tiredly rubbed his eyes as he stepped out of the car. He was wishing not for the first time that he’d taken the time to have a shower and change clothes while he’d been home. Getting caught by the army might have been worth it.  
Regardless, if he continued going back to the hospital wearing the same clothes someone was going to start taking notice. He guessed he should go shopping and find a motel for at least one night.  
Figuring he’d at least go and say a quick word to Nate (mainly so that he knew he hadn’t skipped town without him) and grab some coffee, he headed into the hospital first.  
“’Morning,” he greeted as he walked in the moment visiting hours began.  
“No rest for the wicked, huh?” Nate had jumped at his sudden appearance before also rubbing sleep from his eyes.  
“I think in your case that’s an understatement,” Isaac stood at the end of the bed, “how’s the shoulder today?”  
“The nerves are doing something weird but other than that I’m good to go,” Nate insisted.  
“What do you mean ‘weird’?” Isaac’s eyes narrowed.  
“You know… throbbing I guess?” Nate shrugged.  
“Have you told the nurses?”  
“Nah,” Nate shrugged off before Isaac turned to leave the room, “hey! What are you doing?!”  
Isaac found the nearest nurse he recognised and told her what Nate had said. When they returned to the room together Nate was glaring in his direction. Isaac just shrugged nonchalantly as the nurse went about her work to check him over.  
“So I’m gonna head on out for a while,” Isaac pointed over his shoulder when she was almost done, “maybe grab a shower and a change of clothes. I’ll be back this afternoon. Can I pick you up anything?”  
“Change of underwear would be good,” Nate was watching the nurse who smirked at his words.  
“Will see what I can do. I’ll be back this afternoon,” Isaac assured before looking to the nurse, “do me a favour and don’t let him out of your sight.”  
“I promise,” she smiled, taking it as banter between friends rather than underlying threats.  
As Isaac left the hospital he tried to think of places he’d seen on the way into town where he might be able to stay. He came up empty, so decided to head into the city instead.  
After driving around for some time, he soon spied a thrift store which happened to be on the same block as a townhouse motel. Pulling into the motel first to check in, he figured he’d leave his car there to go shopping before coming back to clean up.   
He managed to pick up a few changes of clothes that he figured he could keep in the car, along with some things he figured were around Nate’s size. He grabbed some extras around Taylor and Zac’s too, just in case.   
Object achieved he headed back to the motel and finally had his long-awaited shower.  
By the time he was done it was mid-afternoon. He made sure to keep everything in the car just in case Nate was actually ready to go that day, so left the motel room empty when he returned to the hospital.  
“I’ve checked in at TownHouse just off Eighteenth for future reference,” he announced as he walked in with Nate’s clothes, “got some things for you from down the street.”  
“Cool,” Nate nodded, taking the bag with his right hand, “how did you pay for the motel?”  
“Credit card, why?” Isaac looked confused.


	79. 79

“Don’t go back there,” Nate insisted straight away.  
“What? Why?” Isaac frowned, before it dawned on him.  
“You think the army’s going to track it?”  
“Or the FBI, take your pick,” Nate’s voice lowered in case anyone happened to be walking past, “they’ll probably have all your cards monitored, and I take it your wife isn’t exactly free to be spending up in Lincoln.”  
“Then they’re going to know we’re in town, even if they don’t find us at the motel,” Isaac rubbed his face worriedly, “I mean me, I guess. I don’t think they know about you yet.”  
“Depends how vigilant they’ve been,” Nate seemed to consider, “but if they’ve been tracking you? Chances are they’d know and they would have stormed the hospital already. So I guess we’re okay.”  
Isaac neglected to mention the phone call with Devon. Nate hadn’t asked how he’d known Zac had been taken, and he wasn’t going to offer the information.  
“Dammit,” Nate sighed, “I guess we’d better make a move.”  
“What have the nurses said?” Isaac asked, knowing they were only on his second full day in there.  
“Today or tomorrow,” Nate struggled to pull himself up with his left arm in the sling.  
Isaac was tempted to help, but held himself back.  
“I’ll go have a talk to them,” he nodded before backing away.  
He wasn’t looking forward to being on the road with Nate again, but it would mean they were closer to getting his brothers back. That was more important.  
“Wait,” Nate insisted, making him halt in the doorway, “we could just walk out, you know.”  
“You really want to risk it?” Isaac raised an eyebrow, “we should at least get you some medication.”  
“This isn’t my first time being a lead pincushion,” Nate scorned, “I’ll be fine.”  
“More’s the pity,” Isaac muttered under his breath.  
“What did you say?”  
“Nothing. Fine. Get dressed and we’ll head out.”  
“We have at least another eight hours or driving,” Nate informed him as he swung his legs over the bed and grabbed the bag of clothes again, “and I’ll need to stop somewhere on the way.”  
“A detour? Really?” Isaac folded his arms impatiently, “why?”  
“I’m not going into the lion’s den unarmed,” Nate scorned, “I just need to pick up a few things, that’s all.”  
Isaac watched as he slowly made his way to the bathroom and closed the door. He wasn’t sure he could trust Nate not to turn on him as soon as he had anything weapon-like in his possession, but once again Nate was all he had in the search for Taylor and Zac. So he grit his teeth and forced himself to bare it.  
Nate was done not long after, and as Isaac kept a lookout he ditched the sling and began to make his way out.  
Isaac led him to his car and Nate gave him an appraising look.  
“What?” Isaac asked, getting in the driver’s side.  
“Yours?” Nate’s eyebrows rose.  
“Of course,” Isaac scorned, “you thought I’d steal another car? We need the least amount of attention drawn to ourselves as possible.”  
“I get it,” Nate nodded as he got in and closed the door, “just figured the army might track this too.”  
“They have no reason to, they think it’s in my garage,” Isaac began to pull out.


	80. 80

Zac looked up as his door opened. Expecting to see Hudson, he was surprised to see one of the men that had brought him in.  
“Come on,” the man came to grab him by the shoulder and pull him up.  
Zac wanted to ask what was going on, but figured he’d find out soon enough and it wasn’t worth the broken jaw.  
As he was taken out into the corridor, they went the opposite way to where he’d come in. As they rounded into a corridor with further cells, Zac began to wonder exactly how many people they had in here. He was sure he hadn’t seen much of it, but it was already a much bigger base than Waco.  
When they came across another man leaning against the wall by a cell with an AK-47 lazily slung over his shoulder, Zac watched curiously as they nodded to each other.  
“He awake?” Zac’s escort asked.  
The guard turned to look through the small window in the cell.  
“Yep,” he nodded.  
Zac’s escort smirked before pressing a button by the door. Zac frowned, wondering what was going on, before hearing a sudden cry of pain coming from the cell. His eyes widened as he immediately recognised the voice.  
“TAY?!” he yelled out, fighting against his escort to get to the cell door.  
When he slipped out of the man’s hands, the armed guard took him by the shoulders to hold him back instead.  
“TAY?! TAYLOR?!” Zac continued to yell.  
It was a moment yet before there came a reply.  
“Zac?!” he heard a weak call.  
“Tay it’s me!” he yelled back as the guard tried to push him back.  
Zac’s adrenaline was no match for the slighter built man.  
“Oh no,” Taylor cringed, before suddenly being hit with the electric shock again.  
“Tay they’re sending me back to Alaska!” Zac called out, not knowing what had happened until Taylor let out another cry once it was over.  
In shock, he looked to his escort. His finger was still on the remote.  
“The longer you stay there, the more he gets hurt,” he warned, “your choice.”  
Zac’s eyes darted between his escort and the door, still refusing to budge for the guard. When he heard Taylor cry out again even when the button wasn’t pressed, he flinched and backed off.  
“Okay, okay,” he relented, trying to catch his breath.  
“You need to tell Seth,” the guard said pointedly to the escort as he took hold of Zac’s arm again, “pretty sure he’s not supposed to know he’s here.”  
“Dammit,” the escort cursed, starting to pull him away.  
“Hang in there Tay!” Zac called over his shoulder, taking the punch that came after without any fuss.  
He was only surprised he wasn’t dealt more. His mind already tormenting him with the many ways Taylor was being hurt to cause such a reaction, he barely took any notice of where he was going until he entered what looked like an interrogation room. The room contained a table with a chair either side, and he was shoved down into the one closest to the door.  
On the table sat an array of different coloured and shaped drugs.  
Realising what was going on he couldn’t help but feel thankful, but his mind was occupied elsewhere. He barely noticed Seth entering the room behind him.


	81. 81

“So sorry, I did honestly forget your predicament.”  
Zac jumped as Seth spoke, looking up as he stepped around him to the other side of the table.  
“Unfortunately your file was not so specific in regards to which medication you were taking, so we’ve needed to improvise. You’ll need to let us know which one of these – if any – you need.”  
“When can I see my brother?” Zac gulped slightly, still feeling the slight adrenaline surge.  
Seth paused, an eyebrow raised. He looked to Zac’s escort.  
“My fault,” he admitted straight away, “I hit the remote as we walked by. They heard each other.”  
Seth rolled his eyes and ground his teeth. Zac remained waiting for an answer.  
“You won’t,” Seth relented, looking Zac in the eye.  
“Why not?” Zac demanded, “what could it hurt? You obviously have stark plans for both of us, why can’t we at least talk to each other?!”  
“He wasn’t supposed to know you were even here,” Seth said through his teeth, obviously frustrated, “and no. He is in isolation, he isn’t seeing anybody.”  
“What are you doing to him?” Zac’s eyes narrowed as they followed Seth’s movements as he paced slightly, “what is the button for?”  
“How about you start answering _my_ questions before I decide you should find out for yourself the hard way?” Seth made himself comfortable on the edge of the table and looked down at him.  
Zac just stared up at him for a moment before diverting his eyes to the table. Whatever was happening to Taylor he knew it wasn’t good.  
If he ever got out of his cell again, he’d just have to try harder. He’d bide his time.  
Trying to concentrate instead, he turned his attention to the drugs. Seeing the blue pills among them but unable to point them out with his hands still cuffed behind his back, he nodded in their direction.  
“The blue ones,” he confirmed, sending Seth a glance but otherwise keeping his eyes down.  
“Once a day, correct?” Seth confirmed.  
“Yeah,” Zac nodded.  
“Great,” Seth clasped his hands, “give him one now and we’ll continue the course as specified.”  
Zac watched as his escort came forward to take one of the small tablets, bringing it to Zac’s mouth. Zac took it without protest but jumped when he unexpectedly had his mouth covered and nose blocked. Panicking for a moment that a similar thing was going to happen to him as Krüger had done to Taylor, he was relieved when once he swallowed he was let go.  
“That was unnecessary,” he insisted, glaring up at the man.  
He was hit across the face in response.  
“Take him back,” Seth waved his hand dismissingly, “oh, and… if you’re going in the same direction, gag him as you pass Taylor’s cell.”  
Zac grunted as he was pulled up from the chair and swiftly gagged with cloth before being pulled from the room. As they came to Taylor’s cell again, the guard just smiled at them before hitting the button again himself.  
Zac struggled against his escort as he heard Taylor’s cries echo through the door. The escort was larger than the guard however and he couldn’t fight him off.  
When he got back to his cell the escort removed his gag and shoved him inside, quickly shutting the door after him as Zac returned to it.  
“TAYLOR?!” he yelled out, hoping his brother could hear him.  
There came no response. He was too far away.


	82. 82

“I’ll deal with this,” Taylor heard Seth’s voice just outside his door.  
With a groan as he heard the door unlocking, he used his legs to push himself back into the far corner. Seth was the last person he wanted to see right now. He’d rather starve for the day.  
Taylor just stared up at him as he entered the cell, remote in hand. The door was closed behind him and Seth took a few steps toward him.  
“Had a bit of excitement earlier, did we?” he teased.  
Not sure if he wanted a response or not, Taylor remained silent. His eyes locked on the remote.  
“If it makes you feel better you weren’t supposed to know he was here,” Seth offered, “but now that you do… oh well. No big.”  
“Can I see him?” Taylor asked softly, not raising his eyes, “can I at least talk to him? Please?”  
He jumped a little as Seth’s finger suddenly wavered over the trigger.  
“No,” Seth replied simply.  
Taylor felt a wave of grief wash over him and let his head lean against the wall again. With the tracker in his arm now and Zac being returned to Alaska, there really was a good chance he’d never see his brother again.  
There was a good chance he’d never see any of his family again.  
“But let’s not dwell on the negatives,” Seth changed his tone, “are you ready to get out of this cell?”  
Taylor looked up in surprise. He hadn’t expected that.  
“Yes, I’m serious,” Seth confirmed.  
“What’s the catch?” Taylor had to ask.  
“The catch?” Seth feigned surprise, “the catch is you get to spend the evening with me. Which means your training starts now. Jerry!”  
The guard opened the door and stepped inside, Taylor seeing his hardware for the first time.  
“Now?” Taylor repeated, unable to take his eyes from the large gun.  
“Get him up and to the training room,” Seth ordered the guard, “I’ll get the girl.”  
Taylor’s eyes darted as Seth left the room and the guard came for him. He was pulled to his feet by a ring on the top end of the binder, the pressure hitting both his shoulders and the stitches in his arm which made him hiss through his teeth. He was unsteady on his feet but managed to walk as he was led from the cell.  
He took a quick look down the opposite end of the corridor in the direction Zac had gone, but he saw nothing other than closed cell doors. Thinking quickly, he took a deep breath.  
“ZAC?!” he yelled out, hoping the call would echo through to wherever he was.  
He was immediately hit with a bolt from the belt which sent him crumbling to his knees, but when his wits returned to him he thought he heard a faint call in reply. When it came again and he realised it was in fact Zac’s voice, he couldn’t help but smile a little as he tried to guess how far away he was.  
He was pulled from his thoughts by a hand around his throat. Looking up and seeing that it was Seth, he gulped and closed his eyes as he was pulled back to his feet.  
“Not a good start,” his voice was low as he shoved him backwards.  
Taylor stumbled and fell into the guard, opening his eyes to see Seth disappear into the opposite cell again. Without waiting the guard took hold of the binder again and pulled him away.  
Somewhere between the operating theatre and the green room, he was led into a dark space and swiftly restrained into what looked like an old electric chair. Once his feet were secured the guard began to undo the many buckles holding the binder around his arms.


	83. 83

“Not so fast,” Seth’s voice came from the doorway, “leave that on him for now.”  
The guard paused, before starting to redo the buckles. Taylor held back a groan as he looked up to see Seth pulling the blonde girl into the room by her hair. Her wrists were secured with the standard leather cuffs, the black from her makeup streaking down her face.  
He’d been about to complain that serious damage was going to be done to his arms if he couldn’t move them soon, but now his focus was solely on her. And Seth noticed.  
He kicked the door closed behind him before throwing her to the ground as Taylor’s guard pushed him back into the chair and secured a strap around his chest.  
“Welcome to the beginning of a new era,” Seth seemed proud with himself before anything had started, “there’s always a moment of awe when you just know you’re about to embark on something special, don’t you think?”  
Taylor’s eyes flew between Seth and the girl. She’d pulled herself up onto her side and started backing over to the side wall.  
“Well don’t all applaud at once,” Seth scorned, rolling his eyes as he turned back to her.  
He took a few steps toward her as she started crying again, before taking her by the hair and pulling her forward. She let out a yelp but landed on her knees about five feet in front of the chair.  
Then Taylor noticed the belt she was wearing.  
“What are you doing?” he finally had to ask, staring Seth in the eye.  
“I…” Seth began pointedly as he pulled a remote from his pocket, “am going to begin this lucky girl’s training… with your help.”  
“What?” Taylor frowned, shifting in his seat as Seth stepped around the chair.  
The girl remained frozen in place, watching as Seth slipped the remote into Taylor’s right hand. Taylor couldn’t even drop it as the seat of the chair was directly below his hands.  
“Just what I said,” Seth assured, looking down on him as he stood again, “you now have control of her belt, which I’m sure you already know the ramifications of playing with.”  
“Why would I use it?” Taylor tried not to show fear but his eyes were wide.  
“Because if you don’t,” Seth reasoned as he made his way back to the girl, “I can make things much, much more uncomfortable for the both of you.”  
“Seth I can’t even feel my hands,” Taylor shook his head, “please, at least take the binder off?”  
“No,” Seth said sternly as he stood to her side and slid his fingers through her hair.  
Taylor shivered as he remembered what that felt like.  
“Not until you at least comply a little,” Seth added, “now where were we?”  
He looked down to the girl, pulling her hair back to force her to look up at him.  
“State your designation,” he ordered.  
“434,” her voice shook as she replied.  
Taylor began to feel sick at the memory of being assigned his own.  
“You can’t make me hurt her,” he cut in before Seth could continue.  
Seth gave him a curious look.  
“I’m afraid I can,” he mused as he slid his hand into his jacket pocket.  
Taylor already knew what was going to happen. When the surge hit he couldn’t even arch his back due to the restraints being so tight. When it was over he realised he’d dropped the remote onto the chair, and he quickly hit it with his hand so it went skidding off the side and across the floor.  
“Interesting choice,” Seth considered, watching Taylor pant to catch his breath.


	84. 84

Taylor’s head jutted to the side as the guard clocked him across the jaw. Seth stooped to retrieve the remote he’d dropped before pressing down on it himself. The blonde girl’s body started seizing and she fell onto her back, soon crying out in pain once the shock had passed.  
“Dammit,” Taylor coughed out, feeling Seth’s eyes on him.  
“I ask you to do _one_ thing,” Seth tsked, “no, I hadn’t even asked yet, and you already screw up. Twice! This doesn’t bode well for your future here being relatively painless.”  
“I’m not going to be what you want me to be,” Taylor strained to look up at him, “I won’t.”  
“My boy…” Seth bent in slightly to him, “you’re already halfway there. You just need an extra push.”  
Taylor frowned, not knowing what he meant by that. Seth just smiled at him before going back to the girl and pulling her back to her knees by her hair again. She looked about ready to pass out.  
Taylor silently prayed that she would.  
“Tell her what she should call you,” Seth was looking down at her but obviously speaking to him.  
“What?” Taylor squinted, flinching as the guard moved and he expected to be hit again.  
It didn’t come.  
“Tell her what she should call you,” Seth’s eyes moved to Taylor, “if you are her trainer, it would only make sense.”  
Taylor paused as it sunk in and he immediately began shaking his head.  
“No,” his voice was already shaky, “I won’t do that. You can’t make me do that.”  
“Oh come now, it’s just a title,” Seth mused, “like ‘Sir’ or ‘Miss’. If you were younger it would even be suitable to the public.”  
“No,” Taylor shook his head again, more forcefully this time.  
“Surely you haven’t forgotten your induction with Krüger so soon,” Seth looked like he was holding back rolling his eyes at his incompetence, “the first thing to do is introduce yourself. It’s only polite.”  
“She already knows who I am,” Taylor scorned, not letting his eyes fall to her, “it’s pointless.”  
“Pointless?” Seth’s eyebrows rose, “I think you of all people would know that that is a lie.”  
Taylor hated to think that he was right. He knew all too well the switch that flipped as soon as the word was spoken aloud.   
“I’ll make you a deal,” Seth offered, “how about I just hold my finger on this button until you do tell her what to say, and then I’ll hold down yours until she actually says it?”  
Taylor cringed as the girl’s eyes widened in fright. Without further warning, Seth depressed the button and she began convulsing.  
“WAIT! Wait!” Taylor cried when he realised what he’d done.  
Seth took his finger away as the girl began to cry out. Taylor waited until she’d at least gone quiet.  
“Yes?” Seth’s eyebrows rose.  
“He wants you to call me Master,” Taylor’s eyes had begun welling up.  
But at least he’d now be taking the brunt of Seth’s whim as opposed to her. He watched as Seth casually swapped his remotes over.  
“Well it’s a start,” he muttered, “though I would have worded it another way. And now…”  
He leant over to pull her up again from where she’d fallen. Her eyes were wide and planted on Taylor, but as Seth’s finger played over the remote she seemed to spring to life.  
“Master!” she exclaimed, looking between them, “I’ll call him Master if you want me to.”  
Seth paused before rolling his eyes. This hadn’t taken the turn he’d expected.  
“Get the binder off,” he indicated to the guard, “I have a better idea.”


	85. 85

“Where are we?” Isaac ducked his head forward to look up at the house they’d come to.  
There was only a little light in the sky as the sun had set some time ago. Careful of the sling still on his arm, Nate stepped out of the car and began up to the front door.  
“A safe house,” he replied.  
He searched the patio for a moment as Isaac locked up the car, taking a quick look around to make sure no one was watching.  
“Are you kidding?” he asked as he made it up the steps just as Nate found the key, “it’s so… out in the open.”  
“That’s the idea,” Nate agreed, unlocking the door.  
He took two steps inside before turning on the porch light and a light inside. Isaac followed him in, the whole time wondering if it was such a good idea. They walked into a living room that looked like it had been abandoned sometime in the seventies, complete with a covering of dust and cobwebs. Isaac brushed some aside as he slowly made his way through, Nate having made a beeline for what he assumed would be the kitchen area.  
“So what is this place?” Isaac wasn’t sure he wanted to touch anything.  
He soon spied an antique television set and had to go have a look.  
“I just told you. A safe house,” Nate’s voice came through as another light turned on.  
“Well yeah,” Isaac rolled his eyes, “but where did you find it? It looks like it’s been untouched for decades.”  
“It practically has,” Nate shrugged as he reappeared in the doorway and headed for another, “I only come here when I really need to and I don’t stay long. It belonged to my parents.”  
Isaac’s eyebrows rose at the revelation and he was suddenly a lot more interested.  
“So what, they just walked out and left it like this?” he asked as he began to follow him down the hall, “it looks like they were ready for Sunday dinner almost.”  
“Something like that,” Nate turned on another light and paused in the doorway.  
When Isaac made it to his side he blanched at the sight in the room.  
“What the?” he covered his mouth even though the stench was long gone, “were they killed here?!”  
“Well duh,” Nate rolled his eyes before stepping into the bedroom.  
He skirted one of the larger patches of dried blood on the carpet and made his way to an old dusty wardrobe. He pulled it open and rummaged through before coming out with a rifle.  
“How long ago?” Isaac frowned.  
“Ah… 1978,” Nate replied before turning to throw him the gun.  
Isaac caught it with both hands as Nate scrounged up some ammunition to go with it.  
“That’s specific,” Isaac raised an eyebrow as he looked the gun over.  
“The year I turned fourteen,” Nate closed the wardrobe and made to leave the room, “the year I was taken.”  
Isaac flinched at the reference before staring after him as he walked back down the hall.  
“The year you were taken?” he repeated, following him out and watching as Nate set the boxes of ammunition on the coffee table.  
“We might as well spend the night here and leave Alliance in the morning,” he pointedly changed the subject.  
“Oh no,” Isaac insisted, setting the rifle against the couch, “you don’t just spit that out and not elaborate. If we’re spending the night here you’re going to tell me what happened in that room.”


	86. 86

“It was dark, that’s about all I remember,” Nate sighed as he sat back into the dust-covered couch, “my sister had snuck out to a party down the street and our Dad was pissed to say the least. He left Mom and I at home and took the Chrysler down to get her. When the car came back, neither of them were in it.”  
Isaac sat down across from him, listening intently.  
“Mom had been waiting up for them to get home, and I was playing a Billy Joel record in my room. I heard her scream and run past into her room, and I heard the gunfire. I guess they heard the music before I could stop it because they came into my room and grabbed me right off the floor. Two guys in black, I never saw their faces.”  
“Did you fight?” Isaac asked.  
“I was fourteen, of course I fought,” Nate smirked, “but there was two of them and one of me, and they made sure I saw my Mom before we left. I was taken in the Chrysler up to Chadron and thrown in a cell for a few days with no food or water.”  
“Did you find out what happened to your sister and your Dad?” Isaac asked.  
“I found Dad the first time I came home,” Nate looked around the room absently, “he was put in the room with Mom. I don’t know how the neighbours never complained of the stench. As for my sister I never saw her again. Sometimes I wonder if she got away, but I doubt that’s true. They wouldn’t have come back to the house otherwise.”  
“But why would they?” Isaac frowned, confused, “why come back here at all? Why not just take your sister and run?”  
“Running’s not their style,” Nate stared him in the eye, “and besides, it’s standard procedure to kill the family. Less people to come looking.”  
“I remember something Tay said about Krüger,” Isaac said thoughtfully, “about how he just assumed his family were dead, before he found out why you’d done it.”  
Nate’s eyes narrowed and Isaac took that as a sign that the conversation was coming to an end.  
“So is Chadron where we’re headed?” he changed the subject.  
“Yes,” Nate nodded, eyeing off the ammunition before getting to his feet again, “he’ll have the place well-guarded. And they’ll be paying attention because the cat’s home.”  
“Tell me you have more firepower than one rifle,” Isaac looked up at him.  
“I have more firepower than one rifle,” Nate scorned before disappearing into the kitchen, “but I’ll need help carrying it.”  
Wondering if he meant then and there, Isaac stood and followed him. He’d made it through to the back door and opened it up, waiting to let Isaac through before closing it again. Outside they took the two steps down into the yard before Nate turned to a trap door below the house. Standing back a little as he assumed it would be another cellar, he watched as Nate struggled with the steel door before starting down into the dark space.  
“Wait… is this a bomb shelter?” Isaac suddenly realised, taking into account the probable age of the house and the position of the door, “what do you _have_ down there?”  
Nate flicked a switch at the bottom which turned on an aging tungsten light. Isaac caught his first glimpse of the expanse of hardware Nate actually had in his possession.  
“Like I said… more than one rifle,” he smirked as he looked around.  
Isaac took a moment to pull himself together before following Nate down and nodding to him.  
“I think if this isn’t enough to take them on,” he looked around appreciatively, “then nothing is.”


	87. 87

Taylor held back the majority of his groans until the door had closed behind Seth. He knew he was constantly being watched, but he still didn’t want to give him the face-to-face satisfaction of the reaction to his pain.  
His arms had been removed from the binder and forced upward instead – his wrists now chained to a bar stretching from one side of the room to the other at just the right height for him to be on his knees. The width of the collar kept his arms away from his head, and all he could see when he looked up was the line of black sutures trailing up his left arm.  
The girl had been left in a similar position a few feet away. Apparently Seth had decided to let them ‘get acquainted’. Taylor knew it had to be a trick somehow, but he couldn’t work it out.  
Leaning his head back he tried to concentrate on the nerves in his arms and stop them from shaking.  
“Why do you only have one shirt sleeve?” the girl asked suddenly, making him jump.  
He looked across at her before looking up at the stitches. He couldn’t move his arm to show her.  
“They put a tracking device in my arm,” he explained, “I guess they couldn’t be bothered rolling the sleeve up.”  
“Oh,” she nodded, her eyes falling before a moment of silence.  
“What’s your name?” he asked, the gateway for conversation having already been crossed.  
“434,” she replied awkwardly.  
“Your real name,” Taylor insisted, “not what they’ve given you.”  
“Kadie,” she couldn’t help but smile a little, “…Kay. Short for Kadie-Jane.”  
“I like it,” Taylor offered her a smile before she diverted her eyes again.  
“How did you…?” she seemed to lose what she wanted to ask halfway through, “I mean… we saw you on the news. You and your brothers? That interview? How are you…?”  
“Here?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose before the girl nodded.  
He looked away, not entirely sure what to answer with. Especially with prying ears not far away.  
“I knew they’d find us eventually,” he admitted, “they always did.”  
“How many times did you get away?” Kadie asked gently.  
Taylor sighed as he leant his head back again, carefully trying to roll his shoulders.  
“I’ve escaped twice,” he said thoughtfully, “from these guys, and twice from before it all started.”  
“What do you mean?” he could tell she was confused.  
“Do you remember about ten years ago when that whole hostage situation went down at the border?” he asked her.  
She nodded.  
“Well, twice then. Neither time worked out. Guess I didn’t get any better with age.”  
There was a moment of silence as Taylor continued trying to move his shoulders and Kadie mulled over the information.  
“So how did you do it?” she asked, making him look up in surprise.  
He instantly realised she was fishing for ideas, and he almost felt proud. Taking a quick look up to confirm that she was wearing the leather cuffs that he used to be confined with, he smiled slightly.  
“Those cuffs you’re wearing have a magnetic lock,” he said as soft as he could, hoping the microphone in the camera wouldn’t pick it up.  
“But they use a key?” Kadie frowned.  
“It looks like a key but it isn’t,” Taylor insisted, “you can use anything magnetic to get them off.”  
His eyes shot to the door as he heard movement outside, praying that they hadn’t heard that.


	88. 88

The door didn’t open that time, but it did again some hours later.   
One of the last people Taylor expected to see walked through the door. Closing it behind her with a grin, she managed to keep something hidden behind her back.  
“Hello Taylor,” she greeted.  
He couldn’t help but stare worriedly as she began to make her way toward him – heels clicking sharply on the concrete floor.  
“Who is she?” Kadie asked softly.  
“That’s a loaded question,” Taylor muttered, trying to pull back on the chains and failing.  
Kathryn wasted no time, immediately running her fingers through his hair and pulling his head back to expose his neck.  
“You’ve been a bad boy,” she crooned into his neck as he cringed and tried to lean away.  
“Go away Kathryn,” he said softly, making her chuckle.  
“Why would I want to do that?” she looped the finger of her other hand through the ring on the collar, making sure he couldn’t lean back further as her tongue began to explore the side of his neck.  
“Okay, seriously,” Taylor suddenly struggled to try and stand up, “Kathryn back off!”  
“No,” she whispered, not budging an inch.  
Taylor suddenly found his footing, and watching for where the bar was he pulled himself up with her weight still on the collar. When he pushed himself up behind the bar she was finally forced to let go. A scowl hit her face immediately.  
“What is wrong with you?!” she demanded.  
“Me?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “what’s wrong with _you_?! Just leave me alone!”  
“Taylor look out!” Kadie suddenly cried, distracting both of them.  
As Kathryn turned Taylor saw the whip she’d hidden behind herself earlier. He gave her a knowing look as he tried to twist his wrists in the chains, forced to hunch over slightly.  
“Are you kidding me?” his eyebrows rose again.  
“You _did_ lock me in that room,” Kathryn frowned, “what, you didn’t think you’d have to pay for that?”  
“My back is already in shreds,” Taylor said through his teeth, “so go ahead and do your worst. I probably won’t even feel it.”  
Kathryn gave him a curious look before stepping around behind him. Sensing she was just going to take a look, he waited as she took hold of his shirt and lifted it up.  
“Wow,” she smirked, “but these are old. Did Krüger do this?”  
“No,” Taylor turned his head but couldn’t see her.  
“Then who did?”  
When Taylor decided not to answer, she huffed and stepped around in front of him again.   
“Seth isn’t the only one good at getting what he wants, you know,” she trailed the whip over his hands before eyeing off his wedding ring, “I could always tell him you were coercing me again.”  
“As if he’s going to take your word over mine while I’m wearing this belt,” Taylor scorned.  
He flinched as she raised the whip. His reaction amused her enough to not bother striking with it.  
“You’re not just trying to be all macho in front of your girlfriend, are you?” she taunted.  
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Taylor insisted, hoping she wouldn’t take offence.  
“Are you sure about that?” Kathryn stepped closer again, “because Seth seems to think she is.”  
“Seth can think what he wants, it doesn’t make it true,” Taylor responded in kind.


	89. 89

Taylor crouched slightly behind the bar so that Kathryn couldn’t reach his head when she tried to grab him again, but being lower left the collar uncovered and she took that instead. He grunted as she gave it a sharp tug and he ended up on his knees again.  
“You’ve got a lot of nerve,” she was obviously angry now, “to speak that way about him.”  
“He might be your master, but he isn’t mine,” Taylor scorned, “my world doesn’t end with him.”  
“I think this might prove differently,” Kathryn ran her opposite finger down the sutures in his arm, “at least we know you’ll always come home to us now.”  
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Taylor insisted.  
Kathryn’s hand flew to his throat and her nails dug into his skin.  
“I should whip the flesh from that pretty face of yours,” she sneered.  
“Go ahead, Seth will love that,” Taylor hit back.  
“Children, children…”  
All eyes darted up to the door where Seth stood with a disgruntled look on his face.  
Kathryn immediately backed away, curling the whip around her hand as she did so. Seth ambled into the room, indicating for the guard with him to fetch Kadie.  
“Kathryn? What did I say about welcoming our guest?” Seth asked pointedly, not bothering to look in her direction.  
Kathryn just huffed and left the room. Seth rolled his eyes impatiently as the guard unlocked Kadie’s cuffs and pulled her to her feet.  
“I think that’s enough time,” Seth returned his attention to Taylor, “I hope you made the most of it.”  
Taylor and Kadie made one last moment of eye contact before she was pulled from the room. The guard made sure to close the door behind him and Taylor was left alone with Seth.  
“So what now?” he asked, wishing that he wasn’t forced to kneel.  
“Nothing,” Seth assured, “we need to induce these sessions periodically. It’s time for a break.”  
Taylor diverted his eyes, thinking the situation over.  
“How am I supposed to be a master to her when I’m wearing a collar?” he looked up eventually.  
“Everyone has to start somewhere,” Seth seemed to reassure him, “she’ll pay it no mind.”  
He came closer and slid his finger through the ring on the collar, making Taylor raise his chin a little.  
“This was an interesting choice,” he considered, “Nate appears to have chosen it for its longevity. Stainless steel I believe? Personally I never would have chosen anything so… heavy.”  
He let it go and took a step back.  
“We will work out a way to get it off without cutting through your neck, rest assured,” he insisted.  
“Can I ask you something?” Taylor asked suddenly, watching his face as he considered the collar.  
“Why stop now?” he shrugged.  
“I know everyone’s different, and you all have your different methods,” Taylor reasoned, “but I can’t help but get the feeling that you’re not exactly trying to be my master.”  
Seth’s eyebrows rose as Taylor began to look worried, not knowing where this might go.  
“Why is that?” he finally asked.  
“I think deep down you know already,” Seth seemed to hint, “but altogether I think you’ve really had enough, haven’t you? What is the count now… three? And despite all your misplaced bravado I do believe you know your place. Therefore discipline is really all I need from you.”  
“So how do I prove myself to you if not through taking orders?” Taylor looked confused.  
“By taking them only from me,” Seth clarified, “and nobody else.”


	90. 90

“But if you’re not trying to be my master then that doesn’t make sense,” Taylor looked confused as Seth stepped around behind him to focus on the collar’s latch.  
“It makes perfect sense,” Seth said in a low tone, simply distracted as he studied the connection, “you’re just used to seeing it in a different way, that’s all. Nothing a little retraining won’t fix.”  
“Retraining?” Taylor turned his head, only able to see the tip of his shoulder.  
“You probably won’t even be aware of it happening,” Seth assured.  
“Oh,” Taylor realised, “that kind.”  
He waited as Seth tinkered, before hearing him sigh in frustration and return to Taylor’s front.  
“Well it’s not coming off manually anytime soon,” he wrung his hands.  
“Do you have a master?” Taylor asked suddenly, hoping he wasn’t crossing a line.  
“Lord no,” Seth almost broke out laughing, “I was simply a willing inductee into the family business. Why would you ask?”  
Taylor hesitated, wondering how much he should say. He wasn’t sure if he would ever see Nate again but if he really had made it out of the cabin alive – and somehow gotten Isaac out too – then provoking Seth into a manhunt certainly wasn’t something he wanted to do.  
“I don’t know,” his eyes darted, “I guess I just assumed that’s how you guys worked.”  
“Not everyone was recruited,” Seth had a scornful tone, “some of us get paid.”  
“Nate got paid,” Taylor kept his eyes down.  
“Ah,” Seth seemed to click, “so this is where it’s come from. I take it you and Nate had a great chat over your time spent together.”  
Taylor looked up again but didn’t say anything.  
“Rest assured that Nate’s view on the entire operation is somewhat skewed,” Seth rolled his eyes, “we didn’t blacklist him for nothing.”  
“Did you blacklist him because of us?” Taylor’s brow furrowed.  
“No,” Seth insisted, “the ties with Nate were severed when he was arrested back in the late nineties. We never expected him to escape from prison, to be honest, but still we knew we could rely on him to keep our little secret.”  
“So… wait,” Taylor frowned, “if the ties with Nate were ‘severed’ as soon as he went to jail, then why am I here? Why did he involve Krüger? Krüger wanted him dead.”  
“It wasn’t so much Nate involving Krüger, as it was Nate involving recruiters who he still had a rapport with,” Seth corrected, a look of realisation crossing Taylor’s face, “Krüger was as unaware of your situation as the rest of us were to begin with.”  
“That makes sense,” Taylor said under his breath.  
“Any other questions you want to get out of your hair before I leave you for the night?” Seth offered uncharacteristically.  
Taylor held back a groan as he realised he wouldn’t be moving for possibly the next twelve hours.  
“Was it you who decided to come after us?” he looked up after a moment of thought, “I mean after Waco, after Mexico… I was sure Krüger was willing to let us go.”  
“It was half and half,” Seth replied, stepping forward again to check that the chains were still secure, “after doing some research I did decide that you would be a valuable asset. This was of course after my brother began insisting that Zac be tracked down along with the other escapees.”  
“Connor was willing to let me go?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose.  
“No, not Connor,” Seth corrected, “there is someone higher up the food chain than he, believe me.”


	91. 91

Isaac yawned as he woke up, momentarily forgetting where he was. Dawn-coloured sunlight was already coming through the thin curtains in the living room so he shielded his eyes as he sat up on the couch.  
Wondering what had woken him up, he looked toward the kitchen when he thought he saw movement out the corner of his eye. When he saw a shadow disappearing he stretched himself out before pulling himself to his feet.  
“Nate?” he called, making his way to the doorway.  
He found him leaning over the sink, filling a glass of water for a drink. He’d already taken the sling off. Isaac wasn’t liking the chances of his shoulder healing completely.  
“How soon do you want to leave?” Isaac asked as Nate set the glass down.  
“As soon as I’m ready, and we’ll get food on the way out,” he insisted.  
“No problem,” Isaac nodded, “but… do we have an actual plan? From experience these places seem pretty hard to get out of, let alone into.”  
“I’ll need to scope the place out first, and funnily enough daylight will be better suited to doing that. They’re less on guard because they think they’ll see anyone coming,” Nate mused.  
“Uh… because they will?” Isaac frowned.  
“Not where we’ll be coming from,” Nate assured, “but we won’t have time to wait for cover of darkness to get out of there. Assuming all goes well, the next flight to Paris leaves from Denver tonight.”  
Isaac hesitated as it sunk in.  
“Have you booked it already?” his eyebrows rose.  
“I booked the next three just in case,” Nate nodded, “but if we miss the first one, I don’t like our chances of waiting twenty-four hours until the next.”  
Isaac held back from asking where he got all his money from, pretty sure he already knew.   
“Okay,” he nodded, “I guess it’s all systems go then.”  
Nate just nodded and remained leaning against the sink. Figuring he just wasn’t awake enough yet, Isaac sighed and walked back through the living room.  
He collected up the few handguns they’d left strewn around the living room, checking as Nate had shown him to that they were all loaded and ready to go.  
He set them into a dusty backpack that Nate had scrounged up from somewhere before taking a look out the window to his car in the driveway. He’d been worried about leaving it out in the open knowing very well what it was loaded with, but Nate hadn’t shared his reservations. He seemed convinced that it was a quiet neighbourhood and they wouldn’t get any trouble.  
Taking note that it still looked to be in one piece, he opened the door and headed on out. He threw the backpack into the back seat, making sure that it was within easy reach for either of them from the front, before thinking better of it and opening the bag up. He took out one of the guns that he’d been practising sighting with and slid it into his jacket pocket before re-zipping the bag and setting it down.  
The next time he looked up Nate was locking up the house. Not bothering to call out he closed the back door and got himself into the front. Nate came straight to the passenger side and got in without a word.  
“Chadron?” Isaac raised an eyebrow as he started the car.  
“Chadron,” Nate nodded, “I’ll guide you once we get there. And don’t speed.”


	92. 92

Taylor grunted as he struggled with the chains. He knew they were too tight to get off, but he was trying at the very least to loosen them. They’d been twisted around his wrists a few times before being padlocked and he was struggling to straighten them out a little to try and take the pressure off his bones.  
He’d even resorted to spitting on them at one point, trying to slide his wrists through.  
He was still going when he heard the door opening. He knew he’d been in there a long time – at some point he’d even slept – but he hadn’t expected anyone back so soon.  
He glanced up at the camera as he fell back to his knees when the door opened and Seth stepped in.  
“What were you doing?” he asked, as if he were about to reprimand a child.  
“I got bored,” Taylor shrugged, not coming up with anything else.  
Seth just smirked before nodding over his shoulder. Taylor jumped as Kadie was pulled into the room by his guard again and thrown onto the floor.  
“Again?” he looked to Seth.  
“My boy, we could be doing this every day for years,” Seth mused, “get him back in the chair.”  
Taylor looked up at the guard as he came for him. He unlocked the chains – careful to keep them together – before pulling him to his feet and dragging him to the chair. He was secured into it properly this time as Kadie pulled herself up to her knees in the background.  
As Taylor felt the straps tighten around his waist and pull on the sutures in his hip, he kept his eye on Seth who’d made his way to Kadie’s side.  
“Kathryn made something evident yesterday,” Seth spoke up, gently stroking his fingers through Kadie’s hair, “and I know it has a lot to do both with your faith and that ring on your finger…”  
Taylor immediately tensed. It was too late to fight back, his wrists and ankles tightly restrained. Before he could focus on the guard again he felt an extra strap go around his throat, forcing him to sit up straight. Flashbacks of being strangled made him panic for a moment and he had to close his eyes in an effort to calm himself down.  
“I think it’s time we took care of that, don’t you?” Seth’s eyes lifted to him once the guard was done, “after all… if you don’t want it, how are you going to use it to recruit?”  
“I don’t need to,” Taylor insisted, finally opening his eyes again and hoping the conversation would distract him.  
“Modesty. That’s the word I’m looking for,” Seth snapped his fingers.  
He bent down to lift Kadie’s hands, producing a key to unlock the cuffs. Looking worried at being freed she stayed where she was.  
“Using your capacity as 434’s new master…” he slipped the padlock and key into his pocket, “I want you to order her to pleasure you. And if you don’t, then I will.”  
“What?!” Taylor exclaimed, watching as Seth pulled a remote from the same pocket.  
Unsure if it was for his belt or hers, he gulped slightly. Kadie just looked between them wide-eyed.  
“And I wouldn’t waste any time,” Seth hinted, not hesitating before pressing the button.  
Kadie convulsed and collapsed forward.  
“Dammit,” Taylor hissed, flinching in his seat.  
When Kadie had recovered, Seth cleared his throat.  
“434?” he made sure he had her attention, “I would like you to approach your master and show him what you’ve learned from your time here.”  
“Wait, wait!” Taylor started struggling as he heard the guard smirk behind him.


	93. 93

Kadie began crawling forward on all fours.   
“Seth, please,” Taylor looked to him with pleading eyes, “don’t make her do this. If you have a _shred_ of decency in you-“  
Seth broke out laughing before egging her on. Kadie didn’t pause, knowing what was waiting for her if she dared stop.  
When she got to the chair she put her hands on his feet and used them to pull herself up a little, her knees resting on the small platform the chair sat upon.  
“Kadie stop,” Taylor pleaded to her instead, “I know you don’t want to do this.”  
“I have to,” she returned his expression, “please don’t make this harder.”  
Taylor looked to Seth again, his heart starting to race. Seth just watched on with satisfaction as Kadie went for the belt on his bloodied jeans.  
By the time she reached for his fly, something in Taylor’s head snapped. He didn’t know where it came from, but he knew it might be the only way out and he had to try.  
“As your master,” he looked her in the eye, “I order you to stop.”  
Kadie froze.  
After an awkward moment of silence, she turned to check with Seth. He looked almost as dumbfounded as she did. He seemed to consider the situation for a moment before he waved her off.  
Without so much as a sigh of relief, she slid back from the chair. Taylor just stared at Seth, wondering what he’d be in for now.  
“I’m not so sure if we should count that as a success or a failure,” he frowned, rubbing his chin, “but regardless I think we’re done here for now. Take her out.”  
Taylor watched the guard come forward to grab Kadie and presumably take her back to her cell. Knowing he was going to be left alone with Seth again, he took a deep breath and tried not to let memories of their first meeting cloud his mind.  
As the door closed his eyes shot to him expectantly.  
“As much of a ploy as I expect that to be,” Seth paced in front of him, “we still have the little problem of you and your modesty.”  
“Why is it a problem?” Taylor frowned, “you’re the only one who’s ever had an issue with it.”  
“Because here we have a certain way of doing things,” Seth appeared to get frustrated, “and until you begin exhibiting a shred of conformity there is no way we’ll be letting you out in the big bad world.”  
“If you ever do,” Taylor scorned, “you know the second you hand me a weapon I will end you.”  
Seth simply smirked at the threat.  
“While your anger is appreciated let’s focus it somewhere more useful, shall we?” he stepped over to the door and opened it slightly, “Kathryn?”  
Taylor froze, feeling his heart leap into his throat. Kathryn soon appeared through the door.  
“Yes Master?” she asked softly, eyeing Taylor before biting her lip playfully.  
“It’s time,” Seth gave her a pointed look, “teach him.”  
“Teach me what?” Taylor’s eyes darted between them.  
“Don’t worry yourself, she’s a _very_ good teacher,” Seth handed her a key.  
Kathryn grinned and practically bounded over to him, immediately climbing into his lap.  
“Didn’t I tell you I always get what I want?” she bragged as she slid her heels off.


	94. 94

Taylor’s mind raced as Kathryn began at his shoulders and worked her way up, mostly using her tongue but certainly leaving a few love bites in open areas. The key Seth had given her hung from her necklace, taunting him as it hit his skin in the process. Unable to move his head away with the strap still around his neck, he knew what was coming.  
Maybe if he closed his eyes he could pretend she was Natalie. They were of similar stature.   
When he felt her hand snake up to grab him by the hair and her other hand go for the strap holding his throat, the same switch flipped and he made up his mind.   
“Forgive me,” he breathed a moment before her lips locked to his.  
He kissed her back. She managed to get the strap undone as he felt her grinning against him, settling further into his lap as her tongue explored his. He kept his eyes squeezed shut the entire time.  
When she realised what he was doing, her hands ventured to the straps around his chest and waist and cleared them. Once he was able to he leant forward into her, simultaneously pushing her back a little. It was all the leverage he had, his wrists still chained to the arms.  
When she stopped for a breather she shifted herself back further and he leant back against the chair.  
“I thought so. You’re a good kisser,” she grinned, running her fingers through his hair again and leaning in.  
“I do have five kids,” Taylor pointed out before she started on him again.  
Her left hand ventured down, pulling his belt the rest of the way from his jeans and throwing it aside. When he groaned a little, she pulled back.  
“Let me help,” he whispered before kissing her again.  
“With pleasure,” she moaned, not bothering to take the key from her necklace.  
She kissed around the sutures on his arm as she unlocked the chain from his left wrist. Once his hand was free he took her by the hair and pulled her back up to kiss him again.   
When her hands ventured down to his fly his left hand took hold of her necklace, and using it as a collar he managed to keep her head up straight. When he suddenly pulled away Kathryn heard a small clink of metal and immediately sat up straight. Taylor opened his eyes and stared at her expressionless as her hand flew to her throat.  
“Where’s the key?” she whispered to herself, feeling where her necklace had broken before frantically grabbing his left hand.  
She opened it to reveal an empty palm.  
“Where’s the key?!” she demanded.  
When Taylor didn’t reply, she slid from his lap and checked the floor. She’d heard something drop but wasn’t sure if it were just part of the necklace or if it were the key. She fell to her hands and knees to check underneath the chair, and she was so frantic in the worry of what Seth would do if she lost it that she didn’t hear the footstep behind her.  
Within seconds Taylor had wrapped the chain from his wrist around her throat and locked it to the left leg of the chair. He used the key he’d hidden under his leg to unlock the chain from his right wrist as she struggled to loosen it, before quickly unbuckling the strap still holding his right leg down.  
“What are you doing?!” Kathryn demanded breathlessly, staring up at him as her legs struggled to keep her upright and he collected up the second chain.  
He’d already heard footsteps outside and so bolted for the door. Throwing the chain to the ground he stomped on it with his foot to jam it under, making it so the door couldn’t be opened.


	95. 95

“Taylor?!” Seth’s voice growled through the two inches the door had managed to open.  
Taylor backed off, looking up at the camera as he did so.  
“He’s so going to kill you, you know that right?” Kathryn smirked smugly.  
“It’ll be worth it,” Taylor stretched out his arms for the first time in days, “dear God that feels so _good_!”  
Once he’d shaken his shoulders out he redid his fly and walked over to collect the belt.  
“Taylor, open this door! Or so help me…“ Seth was still threatening from the door.  
Taylor ignored him as he slid the belt through his jeans and did it up. He heard Seth give some muttered orders before jumping as he heard gunfire. Someone was trying to shoot the chain out from under the door.  
Knowing he probably wouldn’t have much time if they succeeded he walked over to the bar and turned his back to it, spreading his arms out across its length and leaning back into the foreign feeling. He groaned appreciatively as his shoulders thanked him.  
“If stretching your arms out was all it took to give you a hard on, you could have just told me,” Kathryn said condescendingly, “could have saved me a lot of trouble.”  
“Bite me,” Taylor grunted, tilting his head back.  
“He’s going to flay the skin from your bones,” Kathryn seemed overly pleased with the idea.  
“Been there done that,” Taylor closed his eyes, really not caring for the moment.  
It was good to be free, if only physically and only for the moment.  
“How long are you planning to stay in this room?”  
“Until they figure out how to open the door,” he reasoned.  
When she huffed, Taylor looked across at her again. He didn’t want to move until his shoulders felt more flexibility.  
“What’s your surname?” he asked suddenly.  
Her eyes narrowed at the unexpected question.  
“I don’t have one,” she replied, her fingers barely managing to squeeze through the chain.  
“Everyone has one,” Taylor shrugged, “or have you forgotten yours?”  
“You’re going to be writhing in agony within the hour,” Kathryn sneered, “and I’m going to laugh.”  
“He hasn’t set the belt off yet,” Taylor pointed out, “and he still has the remote.”  
Kathryn frowned at that and looked toward the door. Taylor just smirked.  
“So just maybe… he doesn’t really care,” he suggested.  
“Screw you,” Kathryn scorned, “he cares. About me that is, I don’t know about you.”  
“Is Kathryn even your real name?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose.  
“It’s the only name that matters.”  
“Right,” Taylor smirked again, “because Seth gave it to you?”  
“I’m sorry, are you trying to belittle me?” Kathryn continued her scornful tone, “because of the two of us, I don’t see a collar around my neck.”  
“Oh it’s there,” Taylor insisted, “just maybe not in the physical world. But it’s there.”  
Her eyes narrowed and she pulled on the chain again.  
“Can’t handle the truth?” it was Taylor’s turn to taunt.  
“Screw you,” Kathryn spat.  
Taylor looked up to the camera again, wondering how long he’d have with her. They’d stopped trying to get through the door for now, but the silence was slightly unnerving.


	96. 96

“Sentries stationed at all doors. The cat’s definitely home,” Nate handed Isaac his pair of binoculars.  
Isaac took them and looked through to where he’d indicated.   
“No sign of him though, right?” he asked.  
“He’s probably inside training,” Nate shrugged.  
Isaac faltered, but returned the binoculars to his eyes.  
“So which way do we go in? And how do we skirt them?” he asked.  
“We’ll need a distraction,” Nate fished in the backpack and pulled out an old wartime grenade, “and we’ll need to take fire. I’ll set up a base for us to come back to in case we need a little extra firepower, but once we’re in we should be able to take their AK-47s once they’re dead.”  
“AK-47s?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose, trying to ignore the fact that he might actually have to kill people here, “are you kidding me?”  
“Afraid not,” Nate slapped him on the shoulder before shifting backward.  
He slid down from the ridge before finding his feet and returning to the car which they’d hidden in the trees surrounding the base. Isaac watched one of the guards circle the perimeter before following.  
Nate was loading one of the rifles as he filled a shoulder bag with pinned grenades.  
“I’m really beginning to wish we had backup,” Isaac admitted as he came to his side.  
Nate handed him the bag before grabbing his backpack and going through. He pulled out two handguns and also handed them to Isaac before shifting the contents and also filling that with grenades. When he was done he reached into a black duffel and pulled out a satellite phone.  
“If anything happens to me,” he insisted without looking Isaac in the eye, “I want you to call in the military.”  
“Really?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“If I’m dead I’ve got nothing to worry about,” Nate shrugged, “and if I get shot, I’m dead one way or another. Give them the co-ordinates, I’ve put them on the back.”  
Isaac took the phone and slid it into the side of the shoulder bag.  
“And what if something happens to me?” he hated to ask.  
“My job will be to cover you,” Nate insisted as he slung the backpack over his shoulder, “you just need to do what you’ve always done.”  
“And what’s that?”  
Nate sighed as he grabbed the rifle and closed the trunk.  
“Find Taylor,” he looked him in the eye, “you find him. You always find him. Now you need to do that in there.”  
Isaac gulped slightly, looking back over his shoulder. Eventually he nodded.  
“Okay,” he agreed, “shouldn’t be too hard, right?”  
There was an awkward moment when Nate didn’t reply, but simply walked off. Isaac took a deep breath before following him.  
They skirted the perimeter fence and made their way around to the back, away from the main entrance which appeared to be a large steel door. Using wire cutters Nate cut through the fencing and held it back for Isaac. Once they were both through, Nate took his shoulder.  
“There’s a hatch used as an emergency exit just down and to the left,” he indicated, “I’ll distract them so we can get to it.”  
And before Isaac could clarify anything, Nate had thrown his first grenade.


	97. 97

“But doesn’t that worry you?”  
Taylor was sitting on the floor just in front of Kathryn. It felt like they’d been there an hour or so.  
“I mean, not having a mind of your own?”  
“I have my own mind,” Kathryn scowled, “I can do whatever I want.”  
“Unless Seth orders you,” Taylor raised his chin slightly, “am I right?”  
“It’s none of your business anyway,” Kathryn spat, “at the moment you’re a lowly slave. If you survive this you might even be a recruiter. We’re supposed to be on the same side.”  
“I don’t think so,” Taylor mused, “but now that you bring it up-“  
Taylor cut off and turned his head. He’d heard movement outside the door for the first in a long time. As Kathryn watched on silently Taylor slowly rose to his feet, before hearing what was happening and quickly taking a step back. Kathryn grinned as the drill sounded loud.  
“Now you’re in for it,” she said to him.  
“Took them long enough,” Taylor shrugged.  
As the hinges came clear of the door, it suddenly fell inward. Seth and Jerry stepped over it, Jerry’s gun aimed in Taylor’s direction.  
“Get on the floor,” Seth sneered, pointing down.  
Taylor raised his hands in surrender before falling to his knees and then forward onto his stomach. A second guard came through with Jerry and they both made for him, swiftly pulling him arms back and locking cuffs onto his wrists. Seth had stepped over to Kathryn and unlocked the chain before pulling her up by the throat.  
“You and I are having such a talk later,” he almost growled, before casting her aside.  
With one final glare in Taylor’s direction, she disappeared. Taylor was pulled back to his knees and Jerry took him by the hair to make him look up.  
“So,” Seth put on more of a business tone, “I give you 434 as bait, and you decide to take my Kathryn? Well at least you have unpredictability working for you.”  
“Pretty sure she decided to take me first,” Taylor corrected, soon receiving a punch for it.  
Seth waited as he recovered before stepping forward.  
“How long since he was last fed?” Seth looked to Jerry.  
“A day or so,” Jerry replied.  
“Good,” Seth nodded, “I want him back in his cell. Leave it for two more days.”  
Taylor held back rolling his eyes.  
“You and I are also having a talk later,” Seth stared him down as another guard appeared.  
“Seth? There’s been a breach at the perimeter-“  
“NOT NOW!” Seth thundered, turning to scold him.  
Taylor had jumped, not expecting the outburst. The guard disappeared with his tail between his legs.  
“And I know Fowler won’t be happy,” Seth turned his attention back to Taylor’s guards, “but I want you to remove one of Zac’s fingers. Slowly.”  
“What?” Taylor gasped, struggling to stand up.  
He was pushed down again.  
“And make sure he hears it,” Seth turned his back to leave.  
“Seth! Wait!” Taylor frantically called after him as he was finally pulled to his feet, “please! Don’t punish Zac for something I did! I beg of you!”  
“Begging is pitiful,” Seth muttered before disappearing completely.


	98. 98

“SETH!” Taylor yelled as he was led back down the corridor toward his cell.  
He’d disappeared. Taylor wasn’t even sure which way he went.  
“Please don’t hurt my brother,” he was begging Jerry instead now, “please! He hasn’t done anything!”  
“And how would you know?” Jerry just smirked, “maybe he has and you just don’t know about it?”  
“Nothing to warrant that!” Taylor insisted as they came to the cell and opened the door, “please Jerry! I’ll do anything!”  
Jerry took hold of the collar and used it to shove him inside.  
“Don’t call me by my name,” he scowled, closing and bolting the door shut.  
Taylor had hit the ground hard, feeling it in his hip straight away. He grunted as he struggled to pull himself to his feet again and head back for the door.  
“ZAC?!” he yelled, not sure if he could hear him or not.  
There was no reply, but he could hear the guard’s footsteps going to fetch him.  
“No no please no,” Taylor was trying to see out the window and failing.  
He stood back and looked up at the camera, wondering if Seth was even watching.

*

“Which way?” Isaac whispered as Nate closed the door behind them.  
Nate hushed him but pointed to the right. Isaac was about to step out into a corridor when he saw a guard headed their way and quickly ducked back.  
“This is no time for squeamishness,” Nate scorned before stepping out himself.  
Before the guard had a chance to react, Nate had fired two rounds from his handgun into the man’s chest. Knowing the gunfire was going to alert people that they were there, Isaac tried to focus and ignore the fear rising in his chest as he followed Nate out.  
Once that guard had gone down another had appeared. Nate took him out without hesitation before stepping up to the closest cell and taking a look through the window.  
“Unless you want to step it up a notch this could take a while,” he said suddenly, keeping one eye on the end of the corridor as he went to check the next.  
“Right,” Isaac readied one of his guns, “TAYLOR?!”  
Zac’s head snapped up at the voice. He’d heard the gunfire going off and had hoped that whatever was going on didn’t involve either he or Taylor. Immediately recognising the call however, he quickly pulled himself to his feet and ducked over to the door.  
“IKE?!” he yelled back, trying to see through the window.  
“That’s Zac,” Isaac realised, about to bolt.  
Nate grabbed his shoulder to hold him back before jogging to the end of the corridor. He could hear heavy footfalls in the next hall over, so readied one of the grenades and sat in wait. Without waiting to work out what he was doing Isaac made for the cell he’d heard Zac’s voice from and struggled a moment to undo the bolt. Once he had the door open his eyes lit up at the sight of his brother.  
“Zac!”  
“What are you doing here?!” Zac looked incredulous as Isaac quickly hugged him.  
“We’re here to get you guys,” Isaac looked back down the corridor, taking the gun in both hands again.  
“We?” Zac looked out curiously, “are the-?”  
He froze when he saw Nate at the end of the corridor, a moment before he threw the grenade.


	99. 99

“Nate?!” Zac hissed through his teeth, “you’re with _Nate_?”  
“There’s no time to explain,” Isaac insisted, “we just need to find Taylor and get the heck out of here.”  
“I know where he is,” Zac nodded, “I think. If they haven’t moved him, I know where he is.”  
They both jumped as the grenade went off and they could hear gunfire from around the corner. Nate kept his back to the wall as the plaster opposite him practically exploded with bullets.  
“Where?!” Isaac’s voice rose over the noise.  
“Down there!” Zac nodded in Nate’s direction.  
Isaac grimaced but took Zac’s arm and turned him to the side. Wondering what he was doing, Zac let him, before Isaac saw what he’d been looking for and pulled something from the shoulder bag he was carrying.  
It was a large magnet. In moments he had Zac’s cuffs off.  
“Thanks,” Zac immediately brought his hands to the front and rubbed his wrists.  
Isaac pulled a second handgun from his jacket and held it up.  
“Don’t shoot Nate,” he ordered, “we need him.”  
“Sure, whatever,” Zac grumbled before taking it.  
He checked the sight before clicking it off safety and making his way down toward him. Isaac managed to hide his worry and follow.  
By the time they got there Nate was firing. He’d been skimmed with a bullet on his shoulder but hadn’t been hit otherwise. In the corridor, three guards were down. He managed to hit the last before Isaac caught up.  
“I know where he is,” Zac informed Nate.  
“Where?”  
“To the end and turn right,” Zac instructed, “then about halfway down.”  
“Then let’s go,” Nate looked to Isaac and waited for his nod before moving out.  
Nate led them through the corridor with Isaac trailing behind. When they came to the end Nate hit the right as Zac hit left, both carefully checking either way. There were guards coming from the right and Zac nodded to Nate before he unpinned another grenade and sent it rolling along the floor. Zac watched the guards as they slowly realised what it was before they turned to run. Some of them too late. The grenade went off, accompanied by some yells of agony. Zac stepped out the moment the dust cleared and put bullets in the two that were down. Nate followed but ran ahead, quickly finishing one of them off with a headshot before he started looking through cell windows again.  
“Down here?” Isaac looked to Zac, suddenly much more intimidated by his younger brother.  
“Yeah,” Zac indicated ahead with his chin, “about three down from where he is. I’d get there first if I were you.”  
Isaac bolted. As Nate took out the two guards who’d returned to the corridor after escaping the grenade, Isaac made it to the door Zac had indicated and managed to get the bolt undone.  
“Tay?!” he called as he looked inside.  
“Holy-“ Taylor cut himself off as he leant against the wall to push himself up, “Ike?!”  
He’d heard the explosions and the gunfire of course, but Isaac was the last person he’d expected to see in the middle of it all.  
“Come on!” Isaac beckoned him out.  
Taylor didn’t need to be told twice. He ducked out of the cell, freezing when he saw their company.


	100. 100

“Tay?” Isaac caught his hesitation.  
“What is he doing here?” Taylor’s face had lost colour when his eyes had fallen on Nate.  
“You _really_ think I could have gotten anywhere near this place without his help?” Isaac pointed out.  
It was only then that Taylor registered Zac standing behind him. As Nate obviously struggled with himself not to step forward, Zac pushed past and pulled his brother into a hug.  
“Zac! They were coming for you!” Taylor exclaimed, pulling on his cuffs as he subconsciously tried to hug back.  
Isaac got to work on them right away as Nate kept an eye out.  
“Well they didn’t get me,” Zac assured, before stepping back curiously, “…why?”  
“Never mind,” Taylor’s pause made Zac second guess, but a moment later Isaac had the cuffs off and Taylor hugged him back, “I’m glad you’re okay.”  
“Yeah me too,” Zac was frowning now, “though technically not until we get out of here. So can we do that?”  
“This way,” Isaac began to lead the way back down the corridor.  
“Wait!” Taylor called after him, “we have to get Kadie!”  
“Who?” Zac frowned, pausing when he realised Taylor wasn’t moving.  
Taylor stepped over to the cell opposite his, checking through the window before unbolting the door. A blonde girl appeared looking terrified.  
“Kadie we’re getting out of here,” Taylor told her.  
“What?” she gasped, looking between the small group.  
When her eyes fell on Isaac and Zac she gulped slightly.  
“Ike?” Taylor indicated the cuffs on her wrists.  
“Taylor wait,” Kadie pulled back.  
“For what?” he frowned, “we need to go before Seth comes looking. He’ll already know!”  
“My brother’s here,” she looked to him pleadingly, “I didn’t come in alone. I can’t leave him here.”  
Taylor looked to Isaac and Zac, not knowing what to do.  
“Look, Miss,” Nate unexpectedly stepped forward, making Taylor back off, “once we’re gone we’re going to have the military swarm this place. If you think you can hold off until then, you’ll all be rescued.”  
Kadie looked between Nate and Taylor, not even noticing the tension between them as her mind raced to think it over.  
“Guys we need to move!” Zac broke the silence, hearing footsteps in the distance.  
“I think I’ll stay,” Kadie looked to Taylor, “if the army’s coming-“  
“Are you sure?” Taylor took her hands, looking her in the eye, “this could be your last chance.”  
She nodded insistently before Nate took her by the shoulder. Standing back from him again Taylor could only watch as Nate pushed her back into the cell and bolted the door on her again.  
“We need to move,” he insisted, looking him in the eye before turning his back to where he knew more firepower was coming.  
“Tay come on!” Isaac called, starting to run back down the hall.  
Taylor looked between Nate and Zac before following just as fast. Nate pulled the pin on another grenade as the first guard rounded the corner, and threw it just as Zac shot him twice in the shoulder before they turned to run themselves.


	101. 101

“This seems too clean,” Taylor frowned as they made it to the exit well.  
“You call that clean?” Zac gave him an incredulous look, “do you know how many guys I’ve shot in the last few minutes?”  
“But where’s Seth?” Taylor pointed out as he began climbing the ladder behind Isaac, turning back to talk to Zac, “he’d have to know by now. I mean I know I pissed him off, but he couldn’t have left the building that fast.”  
“Can we just count our blessings and _move it_?!”  
Taylor didn’t reply, he just kept climbing. Once Isaac reached the top he held the trap door open, holding one of his grenades at the ready as he kept an eye out.  
“Be careful!” Nate called from below Zac as Taylor emerged and pulled himself aside, “if they’ve worked out our entry point they could have long shots up there!”  
Isaac and Taylor were immediately on guard, Taylor feeling more vulnerable with not having any weapon. Zac emerged a moment later and pulled himself up, gun already at the ready. They saw nothing.  
“They might have amped up the guards at the main door,” Isaac said softly as Nate came up behind Zac.  
Isaac gave him a hand up when he realised he was having trouble with his shoulder and couldn’t hold the rifle. Once he was up he handed the rifle back before they all stood.  
“We need to break for the fence,” he indicated to Taylor and Zac where the hole was, “Isaac, get them there. I’ll cover with grenade fire again.”  
“Okay,” Isaac nodded, taking Taylor’s shoulder with his free hand and pulling him back a little.  
Nate stepped over to the corner that led around to the left side of the building, sneaking a look before indicating to Isaac to go.  
“Come on,” he whispered, leading his brothers to the fence.  
He managed to get Taylor through before Zac held it up for him. As he ducked through they flinched as a bullet hit the wire.  
“Crap!” Zac exclaimed, dropping the wire down onto Isaac as he turned to aim his own gun.  
Not entirely sure where he was aiming for, he shot toward a group of guards standing at the side of the building. He could just make out a pained expression from Nate before seeing him throw a grenade, and moment later bolting for them when the explosion distracted the guards.  
“GO!” Nate yelled as Zac ducked through the fence before following a second later.  
Once Zac was through Isaac and Taylor had taken off. Managing to keep each other in their sights Isaac led them down to the car, taking the keys from the back tyre and unlocking it so that everyone could get in. Nate and Zac who jumped into the back immediately put their windows down as Isaac started the car and both leant out, keeping an eye out for any pursuers who might come after them.  
Isaac floored it, kicking up a ton of dirt in the process. He made it back to the main road without even really thinking about it and once they hit bitumen he managed to hit top gear.  
“Tay in that bag there’s a satellite phone,” he glanced over, Taylor immediately going for it.  
“Not yet,” Nate insisted.  
“What? Why?” Isaac scorned.  
“We need to clear the area first. And they need a chance to decide they’re not under full attack and get complacent again,” Nate reasoned, “we’ll call from Denver.”  
“Denver?” Zac repeated, “why on Earth would we go to Denver?”


	102. 102

Taylor paused with the phone in his hand, looking to Isaac for guidance.  
“He’s got a point Tay,” he hated to admit, “we want them to be able to do the job right, not just drop into the middle of a war zone.”  
Taylor fought with himself for a long time – mainly thinking of Kadie and her brother – before he carefully set the phone down.  
“Why Denver?” he asked, repeating Zac’s question as he continued staring at the phone.  
“We’re catching a flight,” Nate informed them.  
“A flight?” Taylor looked to Isaac again, who was now concentrating more on the road as he got onto the 385, “tell me he’s joking.”  
“He’s not,” Isaac assured, “I went home and got our passports.”  
“Passports?!”  
“Where the heck are you taking us?!” Zac demanded before looking to Ike in the mirror, “and why are you going along with it?!”  
“It makes sense,” Isaac insisted, “Nate, tell them.”  
Taylor folded his arms as Zac kept his hand firmly on the handgun, waiting. Nate eyed it before rolling his eyes.  
“I’m not up to anything,” he insisted, “but leaving the country is going to be the last thing Seth expects us to do. And we’re going to need that edge.”  
Taylor had stopped listening halfway. He suddenly looked across at Isaac with fear in his eyes.  
“What?” Isaac asked when he noticed, worriedly keeping one eye on his brother.  
“Going overseas,” Taylor said with realisation, “it might actually be our only chance.”  
“What do you mean?” he now had Zac’s attention.  
Taylor grimaced, waiting a moment to pull himself together before he held his arm out.  
“Dammit!” Nate cursed, making Taylor jump as he hit the back of the seat.  
“What is that?” Zac frowned, taking hold of his wrist to study the stitching.  
“Isaac do not stop,” Nate insisted, “for anything. Tell me you have enough fuel.”  
“I have enough fuel,” Isaac confirmed, “why?”  
“It’s a tracking device,” Nate answered before Taylor could, “Seth knows where we are. That’s probably why he never showed.”  
“I’m sorry,” Taylor’s eyes welled up, “I didn’t even think. I just saw the chance to get out and I took it. You should have just left me there.”  
“Shut up Tay,” Zac scorned as Isaac shot him a sympathetic look, “we’ll figure this out one way or another.”  
“You were saying going overseas might be a chance?” Isaac tried to keep them on track.  
“Well he said it’d work anywhere in the world,” Taylor tried to keep his voice steady as he took his arm back from Zac and set it in his lap, “but if I can get on a plane then at least he won’t be able to follow us. And he won’t know where we’re going until we get there. Depending how far we’re going it’ll buy us some time to think of something.”  
“Or we could just cut it out,” Nate suggested.  
He fell silent at the scornful look Zac gave him.  
“Paris. We’re going to Paris,” Isaac revealed, “with the military presence at the airport we shouldn’t have any problems getting sanctuary there.”  
Taylor just nodded before turning to look out the window worriedly.


	103. 103

It was a five hour trip to Denver, cut to about four by Isaac’s driving. Most of it was in silence, and both Zac and Nate even managed to get in some sleep.  
Taylor couldn’t sleep just knowing who was sitting behind him.  
“You okay?” Isaac looked across as they made it to the city lines.  
Taylor just smirked, still looking out the window. He took a quick look over his shoulder before looking to his brother.  
“What else do you have in here?” he asked.  
“There’s clothes in the back for all of us,” Isaac nodded to himself.  
“Good, I need them,” Taylor fiddled with the sleeve he had left.  
“Yeah I figured. And our passports, of course.”  
“What happened?” Taylor asked suddenly, “the last time I saw the cabin it was in flames, and Seth thought he’d killed Nate.”  
“Nate got away,” Isaac shot him a glance before pulling off the main highway, “and he came back for me. Apparently he promised you that nothing would happen to me.”  
Taylor frowned, thinking back.  
“So he did,” he realised, more than a little surprised that he’d seemed to keep his word.  
“I was shocked too,” Isaac mused.  
They pulled into Denver International Airport about twenty minutes later. Isaac made his way into long term parking, hoping no one would bother coming to check his car over and inadvertently find what was inside. Both Nate and Zac woke up as the motion ceased.  
“Zac, can you grab the blue bag from the back?” Isaac turned back after taking his seatbelt off.  
Taylor and Nate waited as Zac did so, Isaac tilting his seat back as he opened it and began handing out clothes.  
“Thank you!” Zac exclaimed, grabbing the ones reserved for him, “I can’t remember the last time I had a shower. Do you have any deodorant?”  
“No but we should be able to buy some,” Isaac pointed out, handing some clothes to Taylor.  
Taylor immediately took what was left of the bloodied shirt off and replaced it with the black tee. Zac pulled a blue striped one over his head as Isaac handed them jeans after checking the sizing.  
“You’ve almost thought of everything,” Zac smirked as Taylor suddenly turned back.  
“Nate I need the key to the collar,” he insisted, not making eye contact but making sure his point got across.  
Nate looked sheepish, and Isaac caught it.  
“The key was in the duffel bag I had,” he admitted, “I don’t have it anymore.”  
Taylor’s eyes widened as he turned in his seat, looking between the three of them.  
“You mean Seth had it this entire time?!” he exclaimed.  
“Seth?” Isaac frowned before looking to Nate, “I thought it was in the car?”  
“Seth ransacked the cars before destroying them,” Taylor informed them, “he took the duffel. He used stuff from it. Are you saying he had the key the whole time?!”  
“He must have,” Nate shrugged.  
“And he must still have it,” Isaac realised.  
“I can’t go through security wearing a freaking collar!” Taylor exclaimed, grabbing it for emphasis.  
Isaac hesitated, before reaching into the blue bag again and pulling out a high-collared jacket.  
“I got this for Nate,” he admitted, “but I guess you’re going to need it.”


	104. 104

Taylor felt odd being the only one wearing a jacket, let alone having it done all the way up. But no one seemed to give them a second glance as they made their way through to customs. They decided to split up so as to be less recognisable, so once they got through the initial gating process Isaac and Taylor split from Nate and Zac. The latter hung back as Isaac and Taylor approached security, knowing if there was going to be a problem that they wouldn’t be going anywhere.  
“Ike they’re going to pick up on the thing in my arm too,” Taylor looked to him worriedly as they stood in line.  
“You’re going to be pulled aside anyway,” Isaac shrugged, “I hope you spent the last five hours productively coming up with a credible story.”  
“How about the truth?” Taylor pointed out, “they’re going to take my passport and know exactly who I am. What if they call the army to verify?”  
“Would that be such a problem?” Isaac returned his look.  
“The army’s going to want to know why we’re fleeing the country,” Taylor looked back down the line.  
“We’re not ‘fleeing’,” Isaac insisted as they came to the desk, “and I’m pretty sure they’ll understand.”  
“Pretty sure,” Taylor nodded, “great, that makes me feel so much better.”  
Isaac scoffed and headed for the detector. He went through without a problem. Taylor was about to tell the guard that he was going to definitely set it off before she waved him through anyway. With a nervous deep breath, he walked through. And set it off.  
“Can you take your jacket off Sir?”  
“Can we step aside somewhere?” he gave her a pained expression, “I know what’s set it off. Can I get a search in private?”  
Looking a little perplexed, the woman waved him through to a larger male guard standing by a small room. Taylor looked back for Isaac who’d stood aside to wait. Isaac gave him what he hoped was a reassuring look, before watching as Zac and Nate joined the line separately to each other.  
Inside the room, Taylor waited until the door was closed and no one could see in before he finally undid the jacket and slid it off.  
“Now Sir, if you could-“ the guard cut off as he turned in time to see the collar.  
“I know,” Taylor held out a hand as if to pacify him as he threw the jacket aside, “I just didn’t want to alarm anyone outside. But we don’t have a key for it. So if there is any way at all that you can get this thing off me, then please by all means do.”  
“Look, son, if this is some kind of a prank we really don’t have time for-“  
“It’s not a prank,” Taylor insisted, reaching into a pocket to pull out his passport, “here. If you want to call up the army and talk to a Sergeant Major Andrews, he’ll happily tell you who I am and why I’m wearing it. It is not of my own free will, and it’s certainly not some… crazy BDSM thing. I want it off, we just haven’t figured out how to yet.”  
“May I?” the guard indicated for him to have a look at the catch.  
“By all means,” Taylor turned his back.  
He waited patiently as the guard studied it, before soon giving up.  
“I’m not sure how we’re going to deal with this, but I’m sure we can’t allow you on the plane with it,” he said.  
“And that’s unfortunately not all,” Taylor looked worried as he scratched at his stitches.


	105. 105

“He’s taking a while,” Zac folded his arms as he subtly sat in a seat with his back to Isaac’s.  
“I know,” Isaac replied, his eyes on the door Taylor had disappeared through, “are we worried?”  
“Not really,” Zac considered, “you have to admit, it’s not exactly somewhere you’d expect dirty cops to hang out.”  
“He was worried about the tracker setting off the detectors as well,” Isaac added.  
“Think they’ll strip search him?”  
Isaac could pick up on the slight humour in his voice, seemingly out of place in their situation.  
“I don’t know,” he admitted, “guess we’ll find out.”  
About five minutes later, Isaac sat up as two other guards made their way to the door. Hitting Zac on the shoulder he watched as they each checked over their shoulder before making their way inside.  
“Okay…” Zac was also watching, “do we consider that good? Or do we consider that bad?”  
“I have no idea,” Isaac looked worried, “where’s Nate?”  
“Gone through,” Zac replied, “if anything went down he didn’t want to be in range of it.”  
They watched the door in silence for a time. It was another fifteen minutes before anyone emerged, but the guard that did had Taylor in tow. Seeing him holding the jacket over his arm, Isaac shot to his feet and made his way over. As he got closer he saw that the collar was gone from his neck.  
“Hey Ike,” he smiled, nodding to the guards as they palmed him off to his brother.  
“What happened? You were gone forever,” Isaac watched after them.  
“A lot happened,” Taylor rubbed his neck, now not used to the weight not being there, “but they contacted Andrews.”  
“Good,” Isaac nodded, “did you talk to him?”  
“Yeah,” Taylor looked around worriedly, “can we…?”  
Isaac looked back to where Zac had been sitting. He was gone. Taking a quick look at the time to make sure they had plenty, he took Taylor over to a deserted corner where they could talk.  
“I gave him the co-ordinates,” Taylor admitted.  
“Great. What did he say?”  
“He wasn’t keen on the Paris idea,” Taylor looked over his shoulder, trying in vain to spot Nate, “but he understood. He said he’d try and get the French military to meet us at Charles de Gaulle.”  
“That’s great!” Isaac insisted.  
“Yeah,” Taylor sighed, “now we just have to spend eleven hours on a plane with Nate.”  
“Tay, I know you’re not happy with this…” Isaac began as Taylor leant against the wall, “but he really did help us out. There’s no way I would have even found you without his knowledge of the Creeds.”  
“I know,” Taylor nodded.  
“And it was his idea to go to Paris. That wasn’t unfounded, right?”  
“Ike just tell me you’re using him,” Taylor gave him a pleading look, “tell me this isn’t an arrangement you’ve made with him or anything.”  
“It’s not,” Isaac assured him, “I know… or I have an idea anyway… of what you mean to him. And yes, I took advantage of that to find you. He very nearly left me behind at the cabin, but I worked my way in. I don’t regret that for a moment.”  
Taylor momentarily made eye contact with Zac and they gave each other an awkward smile before he disappeared again. He’d been shopping, presumably with Nate’s money.  
“As long as you think you’ve got him under control, I’ll go along with it,” Taylor promised, “but no, you can bet your ass I’m not happy with this.”


	106. 106

“Do you have any money on you?” Taylor asked.  
“I have our backup credit card,” Isaac fished for it in his pocket, “Nate warned me not to use it because the FBI would track it. Guess it’s a bit late for that now.”  
“Yeah,” Taylor took it when Isaac held it out.  
“What are you using it for?” Isaac asked.  
Taylor looked across to where two payphones sat.  
“I just want to call Nat and check in,” he admitted, “cover for me?”  
“No problem,” Isaac took his jacket and gave him a pat on the back as he walked away.  
He kept an eye out for both Zac and Nate as Taylor made his way to the phone. He spotted Zac first, who’d noticed their split and casually made his way over.  
“Deodorant,” he said with a satisfied grin, showing off his bag of goodies, “what’s Tay doing?”  
“Calling Nat,” Isaac leant back against a wall where he could keep an eye on him.  
“Right. I should probably call Kate…” Zac looked like he actually didn’t want to.  
In reality he just wasn’t sure what story to give her.  
“Tay spoke with Andrews,” Isaac informed him, “so they know we’re safe. Well, reasonably safe.”  
“Did he tell them about Nate?”  
“He didn’t say,” Isaac eyes narrowed as he watched Taylor smile as he began talking, “but he did say Andrews was going to contact the French military and have them meet us at the airport.”  
“Cool. Escort to the embassy? Or something else?” Zac looked hopeful.  
“Didn’t get that either,” Isaac shrugged.  
“Well you’re a great interrogator,” Zac smirked.  
Both their eyes suddenly fell on Nate, who was seated in a café area on the other side of the phones. He was watching Taylor intently.  
“I’d better go distract him,” Isaac muttered when he saw Zac looking in the same direction.  
“Cool. I’ll just… hang,” Zac saluted before sliding to the ground to sit where he was.  
He had a clear view of all of them from where he was so he wasn’t particularly worried. He watched as Isaac skirted around Taylor and headed straight for Nate. Nate barely noticed him until he actually sat at the table.  
“He’s crying,” he said absently, watching as Taylor ran his fingers through his hair.  
“He’s talking to his wife,” Isaac didn’t take his eyes from Nate, “he misses her.”  
Nate seemed to flinch. Isaac got the feeling that Nate couldn’t understand the reaction even if he’d wanted to.  
“The military knows we’re here,” Isaac felt the need to inform him, though he had ulterior motive, “maybe it’s not such a good idea… you getting on this flight?”  
“I’ll be fine,” Nate insisted, watching as Taylor leant against the side of the booth and wiped his eyes.  
Isaac followed his eye line and sighed.  
“Just don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he insisted.  
They watched on in silence for a few more minutes before Taylor ended the call. He stood with his hand on the receiver for a time before looking around for his brothers. Deciding not to wait until he saw him with Nate, Isaac got up and made his way over.  
“Thanks,” Taylor said softly, handing him back the card.  
“Ready to go?” Isaac indicated in the direction of the gate.  
When Taylor nodded he handed him back his jacket before indicating to Zac where they were going.


	107. 107

Isaac and Taylor had almost made it to the gate when they heard a whistle from behind them. Multiple people turned, but it was Zac trying to get their attention. He’d stopped at one of the televisions strewn around the lounge area. Nate had stopped a few yards behind him.   
The two shared a look before Isaac made his way over, Taylor opting to stay by the gate to wait. As Isaac made his way to Zac’s side, Zac gave him a worried look.  
“How long ago did Tay speak to Andrews?” he asked.  
“Ah…” Isaac checked his watch, “maybe an hour?”  
“Then that’s not good,” Zac nodded to the screen as Isaac finally looked up.  
They couldn’t hear the audio, but the report was coming in live from the outskirts of Chadron where an old ‘bunking facility’ had been completely demolished by the use of explosives.   
“Is that…?”  
“Yep,” Zac replied before he could ask.  
Isaac sent Taylor a worried glance.  
“How long ago?” he asked.  
“From what I can gather? About a half hour.”  
“There’s no way they would have gotten out in time,” Isaac muttered before heading back to the gate.  
“What is it?” Taylor frowned as Isaac beckoned for him to walk with him.  
“I’ll tell you on the plane,” he insisted, giving Zac and Nate one last glance before they made their way through to boarding.  
They went through without any hassles and it was only when they got to the aircraft door that they noticed they weren’t sitting together.  
“Did Nate do this?” Taylor looked momentarily panicked.  
“Relax,” Isaac insisted, “it was a last minute booking, he probably couldn’t get us together. He’s not going to try anything, just keep reminding yourself okay?”  
Taylor had his ticket checked and began down the aisle, waiting until Isaac was behind him.  
“He’s Nathan Devereux,” he said in a low voice as he came to the fifth row and slid into it, “he could be planning a hijacking for all we know.”  
“If he were, I’d know about it,” Isaac tried to reassure him, “there’s not much time over the last few days that he’s been out of my sight. Now, I’m only seven rows behind you, okay? So if anything happens I’m right here.”  
Taylor just nodded, watching as Isaac went to find his seat so he could stop holding people up. He soon found it and settled into the middle seat, looking up to watch as Taylor slid back into his window seat.  
It was some time before Zac boarded and he came down the opposite aisle. He gave Taylor a nod when he spotted him, continuing further down the back from where Isaac was. As Taylor watched he found his seat on the opposite side of the plane on the aisle about halfway down.  
Nate was the last to board, only a few from the end. Taylor’s eyes locked on him until Nate saw him watching and he quickly looked away. Managing to keep him in his peripheral vision, he registered that Nate’s seat was on Zac’s side about halfway between he and Isaac. Once he was down Taylor turned to find Isaac again who just gave him a reassuring nod and indicated for him to sit down.  
Taking a deep breath Taylor sat back and fastened his seatbelt. There turned out to be no one sitting next to him, and a businessman on the aisle who had a laptop ready to work inflight.


	108. 108

Almost as soon as the seatbelt light turned off Taylor was out of his seat. But when he took a look back and saw that Isaac was already up as well, he waited until he made his way down the aisle. No need to disrupt the businessman’s work if he didn’t need to.  
“Everything okay?” Isaac asked as he came to the row.  
“He’s over the other side,” Taylor indicated.  
“So I saw,” Isaac took a glance over his shoulder before looking back for Zac.  
He already had headphones on and looked like he was trying to work out the entertainment system.  
“You should try and get some sleep,” he suggested.  
“Tell me what happened back there,” Taylor insisted.  
Isaac sighed, giving the people behind him a glance.  
“You’ll probably see it on the sky news anyway,” he shrugged, “the Chadron base went up in flames just over an hour ago.”  
Taylor hesitated as it sunk in, then frowned.  
“The military wouldn’t have done that,” he thought out loud.  
“No they wouldn’t,” Isaac agreed, “seems like Seth’s trying to cover his tracks, and is killing a lot of people in the process. Sound like anyone else we know?”  
“Yeah, Krüger,” Taylor’s eyes lowered, “any word on survivors?”  
“We only saw a minute or two,” Isaac shook his head, “might pay to pay attention to the news channel. Did you get headphones?”  
Taylor nodded and pulled them out.  
“Thanks,” he shot his brother a glance.  
“Get some sleep,” Isaac insisted, “you’re not going to last eleven hours.”  
“I can try,” Taylor muttered.  
Isaac hesitated, then leant over and tapped him on the shoulder. Jumping at the unexpected contact, Taylor slid the headphones off again.  
“Want me to keep watch for you?” he asked, “would that help?”  
Taylor looked across at Nate who appeared to be reading a magazine.  
“Maybe,” he admitted.  
“Then I’ll do that,” Isaac assured, “but we’ll need to take turns, okay? I need some sleep too.”  
“Sure. Wake me whenever,” Taylor nodded.  
“Thanks,” Isaac patted the back of the seat before returning to his own.  
Taylor watched him go before returning his attention to the television.  
It didn’t take long to find the report. He watched with wide eyes as the reporter recounted multiple explosions that rocked distant homes to the point of breaking windows. It definitely sounded like one of the Creeds’ backup plans. He scoured the footage as best he could as it flashed across the screen, trying to see if anyone was running from the building as the later explosions were filmed via helicopter. But the footage moved too fast and he couldn’t see anything.  
“Come on Kadie,” he pleaded softly, “please be okay.”  
The end of the bulletin indicated a military presence at the base, so he began to hope that maybe they’d had a chance to raid it first. Hopefully no soldiers had been inside when it had gone up.  
He could think of a few people he hoped _had_ been inside though.  
When the report ended he leant back and closed his eyes, not even realising when exhaustion took over and he very quickly began to fall asleep.


	109. 109

Taylor awoke when he started feeling cold. Registering that there was a breeze hitting the side of his neck, he moved his hand to cover it.  
“You’re awake.”  
Taylor’s eyes shot open and he jumped, turning to see Nate leaning over the chair behind him. With repulsive realisation he knew that Nate had been blowing on his neck.  
Taking a quick look back for Isaac, Nate leant sideways a little to block his view.  
“He fell asleep,” he offered, “poor guy’s been going since the sun came up.”  
“What do you want?” Taylor barely got out, hoping that maybe Zac would notice instead.  
“We haven’t spoken since the cabin,” Nate sat back into the chair a little.  
Taylor took note that no one else was sitting in that row, and that the man in his was still tapping away with his headphones on completely ignoring everything around him.  
“And?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, shifting slightly so he could see Nate better.  
“And I think we should,” Nate seemed confused as to why he’d asked, “don’t you?”  
Taylor didn’t know what to say. He wanted to say ‘no’, but aggravating Nate on a plane already halfway over the ocean was not something he wanted to do.  
“Don’t you?” Nate repeated, unsure if he’d heard.  
“Why?” Taylor kept his eyes down, hating the submissive feeling that he felt slowly overpowering him again.  
Nate was silent for a moment, not entirely sure how to take the question. When Taylor realised he was stumped he looked up at the back of the seat.  
“What’s your plan for when we get to Paris?” he asked, making sure to keep his voice down, “why France? Why are you taking us there?”  
“I don’t know that it counts as ‘taking’,” Nate considered, “it seemed voluntary to me.”  
“But we could have gone anywhere. The UK? Australia? So why France? Why somewhere that English isn’t a main language?”  
“Well most people speak it,” Nate shrugged.  
“We go to a song writing retreat here, we know,” Taylor held any scorn from his voice.  
“Good. Maybe you can take me there,” Nate smiled a little.  
Taylor’s eyes narrowed.  
“What happened to the um…” Nate indicated his neck before Taylor could reply.  
“Security confiscated it,” Taylor replied automatically, “there’s no getting it back.”  
“A shame,” Nate seemed to ponder, “it was a nice one. As troublesome as it turned out to be.”  
Taylor froze. He’d just gotten his first hint that this was far from over.  
Before anything else could happen, Zac suddenly appeared above them both. Taylor looked up with relief.  
“Everything okay here?” he looked between them.  
“Sure,” Nate smiled as Taylor waited to make sure he wasn’t looking and shook his head.  
“Well, we’ve got to do some brother talk, so scat,” Zac thumbed over his shoulder.  
Nate narrowed his eyes at Zac for a moment, but when Zac stared him down he relented with a sigh. He scooted across to the aisle and gave Taylor one last look before taking his leave. Zac snuck into the seat he’d previously occupied.  
“I don’t care what it takes,” Taylor shook his head, “when we get to Paris? We need to lose him.”  
“No argument here,” Zac assured, watching after him.


	110. 110

“So why are he and Ike so chummy anyway?” Zac frowned, resting his chin on the headrest.  
“I guess they just spent too much time together,” Taylor shook his head, pulling one of his ankles up onto the seat and holding it, “something happened when he had us. When Seth came for us. He told me nothing would happen to Ike, and he seems to be keeping his word.”  
“Okay…” Zac’s eyebrows rose, “anything you want to tell me about that?”  
“I don’t know, I don’t get it,” Taylor shook his head again with a frown.  
“So… Ike obviously needed his help to find us. So why haven’t we ditched him yet?” Zac pondered.  
“I don’t know,” Taylor sounded incredulous.  
Sensing he was getting upset, Zac hesitated as he thought of a change of subject.  
“Tay?” he got his attention, “when we were… back there. I heard you yelling whenever they pressed this button thing by your door. Can I ask what they were doing?”  
He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or not, but not knowing was killing him. The momentary silence from Taylor that followed made him wish he’d held off longer.  
“Do you remember the belt that I was wearing?” he asked softly.  
“Yeah,” Zac frowned, starting to click, “the one we cut off in the car? Since when do they use elastic restraints anyway?”  
Taylor smirked.  
“It was something they used to use in the prison system apparently. It sent electric shocks into… my kidneys I think? Wherever it went it was really painful.”  
“I could tell,” Zac nodded, “I’m sorry.”  
“For what?” Taylor looked up curiously.  
“I know I caused some of that,” Zac shrugged.  
“Oh no,” Taylor shook his head, “Seth told his guys that whenever they walked past they could press the button as many times as they wanted. It wasn’t you, they would have done it anyway.”  
“Dicks,” Zac pulled a face.  
“Pretty much,” Taylor nodded.  
“So anyway… are you okay now?” Zac asked, noticing he was talking easier, “I might go have a chat to Ike and see if we can figure something out before we land.”  
“Sure,” Taylor nodded, “just fill me in later.”  
“Will do,” Zac reached over to squeeze his shoulder before he slid out from the seats again.  
He made his way down the aisle to where his eldest brother was fast asleep, the woman beside him looking slightly annoyed about it. He smirked as he watched on before tapping him on the shoulder. Isaac awoke with a start.  
“What is it?” he asked, rubbing his eyes, “did something happen?”  
“No. But lucky I was watching Tay for you,” Zac’s eyes narrowed.  
Isaac leant up to see where Taylor was in relation to Nate. Realising that whatever had happened was long over, he sat back again.  
“Is he okay?” he asked.  
“For now,” Zac nodded as he looked back, “but for how long I don’t know. He wants to ditch Nate when we land, and I agree with him.”  
“I figured,” Isaac nodded, rubbing at his eyes again, “and yeah, I do agree.”  
“You both should get some more sleep,” Zac insisted, “I slept in the car so I’m good for a watch.”  
“Thanks,” Isaac nodded before Zac took his leave again.


	111. 111

Taylor’s nerves skyrocketed as the plane lowered over Charles de Gaulle. Nothing happened until they landed, and his brothers immediately flanked him as they made their way to the exit. Nate lagged behind.  
“So what’s the plan?” Taylor looked between them as they made it to the inner gates.  
“What if we send him to organise a hire car?” Isaac suggested.  
“And we get a cab?” Zac caught on, “that could work. But I really need to hit the head.”  
“What about the military?” Taylor asked, “someone’s supposed to meet us here remember?”  
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Isaac insisted, “for now, let’s get out of his sight.”  
They headed over to clear customs (which didn’t take at all long without luggage) with Nate keeping his distance. Isaac pulled them up once they stepped out into the main terminal.  
“Ready for this?” he checked.  
“Ready,” Zac agreed as Taylor nodded, only a moment before Nate caught up to them.  
“Good to go?” he asked.  
“Yeah. Why don’t you organise a hire car for us?” Isaac suggested.  
“And I’m gonna use the little boys’ room,” Zac nodded over his shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.  
“I can do that,” Nate nodded, “should we give them an estimate of how long we need it for?”  
“See if you can get it for a week and we’ll go from there,” Isaac shrugged, Taylor’s eyes locked to him the entire time.  
“Okay, I’ll be back soon,” Nate nodded, soon disappearing in the other direction.  
Taylor took a deep breath.  
“Now what?” he asked, looking around in the hope of spotting the army.  
“Now we subtly head for a cab,” Isaac said under his breath, beginning to head in the same direction as Nate but moving slower.  
Taylor tried to spot him over the crowd but he’d well and truly blended into them. Eyeing the taxi rank up ahead, he followed his brother and hoped that Zac wouldn’t take long.  
“Taylor Hanson! Cesser! Stop!”  
Taylor froze. As Isaac turned to look over his shoulder at who was yelling, he felt rough hands grab his shoulder and pull him into the crowd.  
“Nate? What the Hell?!” he cursed, “I told you the army-“  
“That’s not the army,” Nate kept hold of him, pulling him through the crowd.  
“What?” Isaac turned to look back.  
Taylor was still frozen on the spot, watching after him with wide eyes.  
“They called him Taylor,” Nate elaborated, “not Jordan. If it were the French military, they would have called him Jordan. Or Hanson. But definitely not by Taylor.”  
Taylor grunted as the force of two soldiers hit him, pushing him forward a few feet as they took his arms and secured his wrists at the front with nylon handcuffs. Taylor felt his heart sink, knowing for sure now that they weren’t the good guys.  
“You’ve been a royal pain in the ass, Mr Hanson,” a French accent said into his ear.  
“Bite me,” Taylor grit his teeth before he was taken by the arm and led through an employee passage by one of the gates.   
“Are you telling me the Creeds have people here too?!” Isaac threw Nate off.  
“Isaac don’t cause a scene!” Nate hissed, “and yeah, I may have left that part out…”


	112. 112

“Zac,” Isaac suddenly realised, his eyes darting, “Nate we need to find Zac!”  
As he turned to bolt Nate grabbed him and pulled him back again.  
“We need to follow Taylor,” Nate reasoned, “Zac will be fine if he stays out of sight, but if we lose Taylor he could be gone forever.”  
Isaac stopped himself, but it was hard.  
“Come on, I think I know where they’re going,” Nate nodded toward another gate.  
“How?!” Isaac frowned, following after him regardless.  
Nate didn’t bother to reply. They came to an employee walkthrough and Isaac diverted his eyes as Nate fiddled with the lock. The passage was almost a direct route through to the tarmac minus the sound barriers. When they hit the opposite window they could see a white courier van with the back doors open – and it was unmistakably Taylor being led to it by three men in camouflage, at least one of whom was holding an AK-47.  
“Isaac-!” Nate called after him as he ran to the right, trying to find a door to the outside.  
They could only watch through the windows as Taylor was helped up into the back of the van. He was pushed down to sit on the floor facing outward, before he momentarily made eye contact with Isaac. Before he could even register that it was his brother running, a cloth gag went into his mouth and the van doors closed. The van immediately took off, coming to rest barely a few hundred yards away before the doors opened again. Frowning in confusion, Taylor’s eyes widened when he realised they’d stopped to pick up Zac.  
“Tay?!” Zac exclaimed when he saw him, immediately pulling back on the two men holding him.  
Taylor used his legs to shift himself backward as Zac was forced in and made to sit with him. Hands came from behind to stop him from moving far.  
“Did Nate do this?!” Zac was demanding as the van doors closed, “where are you taking us?!”  
He was swiftly gagged with the same cloth as Taylor had been before a black hood was put over his head. Taylor grunted something unintelligible, hearing one of the men speaking in French to his comrades before coming for him with a hood as well. Once it had gone on he felt himself being shifted before he suddenly felt his back hit Zac’s.  
His mind racing to try and work out why they’d be set back to back in the van, he couldn’t see it coming but he felt the zip tie go around his neck.  
Immediately panicking as his back was pulled straight against Zac’s, his muffled cries came through the hood as his legs struggled to push himself up and he began to make Zac panic as well. More knowing that if Taylor didn’t settle down he was going to choke them both. But Taylor had visions of being strangled by Nate flashing across his memory, and until he was suddenly hit on the head with something sharp – presumably the butt of a gun – he couldn’t control himself enough to even try and calm down.  
As Zac felt him slow down he tried to catch his own breath. They hadn’t even noticed that the van had started moving again.  
Their captors spoke in French to each other so they could only make out a few words. Taylor had to concentrate on his breathing more than anything, but Zac tried to pay as much attention as he could.  
They were driving for quite some time, but they never picked up speed so he assumed they’d been kept in the city somewhere. It wasn’t until the van came to a full halt that the tie was cut.  
Their hoods were however left on as they were pulled out and led away from it.


	113. 113

They could hear doors opening and closing as they were led into a building, and eventually into an elevator. They weren’t sure how many floors it went up. When they were pulled out they were led possibly only ten yards before being forced to their knees again. Neither brother was even sure if the other was still with them.  
An awkward silence followed before they heard the sound of boots on floorboards walking closer.  
“352 and 353?”  
The voice sounded eerily familiar, but had an awkward cross between an English and French accent. Taylor’s eyes darted in the dark as he tried to figure out if he knew it while Zac just listened intently.  
An affirmative grunt was heard in response. There was another awkward silence before the man stepped forward, and taking each hood in one hand he pulled them off. Taylor struggled to keep himself composed as Zac blinked furiously to adjust his eyes to the light. When he looked up he saw a man much taller than Seth, but the family resemblance was unmistakable. It wasn’t long before Taylor made the same connection and gave Zac a worried glance.  
“So these are the ones causing all the trouble over in America?” he raised an eyebrow to someone standing behind Taylor.  
“Oui,” the man Zac could see in military uniform nodded.  
“Hmm,” he set the hoods onto a nearby chair and straightened his business suit jacket, “Seth called a few hours ago to inform me they were on their way here.”  
He made his way back to them before taking Zac’s hair in his hand and tilting his head back, seeming to study his face.  
“He issued a kill order on the both of them,” he revealed.  
Zac took a moment to register what he meant by that, but Taylor immediately panicked. He almost managed to pull his gag out before the soldier behind him scared him by restraining his arms. He barely caught the older Creed’s attention.  
“Of course he called back an hour or so later and recounted one of them,” he returned his gaze to Zac, looking up and down the line of his neck, “would I be right in saying that this one is Zachary?”  
“According to his passport, yes,” the soldier behind Zac responded for him.  
Zac kept his eyes on Creed’s face, managing to keep his fear internal. Taylor was exhibiting enough for the both of them.  
“So this must be Taylor,” he finally let Zac go and shifted over to stand in front of him, “of course I’ve heard a lot about you.”  
Taylor stared up at him, now unable to move. The knuckles in his clenched fists were white.  
Creed knelt in front of him and gently trailed a finger down the line of black on his arm.  
“Seth asked that I do it painfully and in front of 353 to teach him a lesson,” the disdain in his voice seemed to be aimed at his brother, “and to dispose of the body quickly. However, we do things differently here in Paris. We can’t just go throwing random cadavers into the river.”  
Taylor was already taking jagged breaths. Zac was watching him carefully, hoping he wouldn’t pass out. Creed suddenly leant forward and pulled away his gag.  
“When is the last time you ate?” he asked directly.  
“On the plane,” Taylor frowned, wondering why he’d ask such a thing.  
“I trust you would also be suitably hydrated then,” Creed nodded before standing.  
He looked between the soldiers in the room.  
“I want him harvested as soon as he dies. We should make something at least,” he casually ordered.


	114. 114

“Harvest?” Taylor gulped as he was pulled to his feet.  
Zac’s eyes darted between them, hoping against hope it didn’t mean what he thought it meant.  
“And don’t lose that tracer. They’re expensive,” Creed insisted, “introduce him to the butcher. Oh…”  
He’d made to head back to the desk in the large and stylish office they appeared to be in, but turned with the afterthought.  
“We can do one thing for my brother. Have this one watching,” he indicated Zac, “Seth will be here soon to collect him. Try not to damage him before then.”  
“Wait!” Taylor cried out as Creed turned his back and they were pulled back to the elevator, “please, don’t do this! Just wait-!”  
Taylor struggled as his gag was replaced but he was no match for the two soldiers now holding him. They knew he had nothing left to lose and he was likely to put up a fight. Inside the elevator he and Zac locked frightened eyes.   
The elevator made its way down, past what they could see was the ground floor and stopping at one of multiple basements. When the doors opened they were pulled out into a small room that seemed to serve as an empty foyer, before continuing through some sliding glass doors.  
The room they entered looked like a cross between a surgery and a morgue. The icy fear in Taylor’s chest immediately multiplied by ten and he began moaning unintelligibly into the gag as he tried desperately to dig his heels into the floor. Zac had frozen when he saw where they were. Taylor had been dragged halfway to one of three stainless steel tables – not without a fight – before Zac could even react. His first move was to bring his fists up and clock the soldier that held him right in the jaw.   
The man recoiled in a daze and in the moment before anyone else realised what had happened, Zac was free. Taking a second to gather his thoughts he pulled the gag from his mouth and looked around for anything he could defend himself with. A nearby tray held a plethora of surgical tools, and the first thing he eyed was a large scalpel.  
By the time the two soldiers struggling with Taylor were aware, Zac had it in his hands. Because his escort had already recovered he didn’t get the chance to use it to cut himself free and had to hold it ready for defence instead.   
“Qu’attendez-vous pour?” one of Taylor’s guards scowled, “l’attraper!”  
Zac wasn’t sure what he’d said, but he got the general idea. He made eye contact with Taylor, trying to somehow telepathically encourage him to take advantage of the diversion.   
One of the soldiers dropped Taylor’s arm, moving to Zac’s left in order to cut off any escape route. The one Zac had clocked advanced with a glare on his face. As he was the smaller of the two, Zac focused on him more than the other. He was the first to reach him, and he went for Zac’s hands. Zac quickly turned his back so that he couldn’t reach before shouldering into his chest and twisting the scalpel into the man’s abdomen. He had half a second before the second soldier grabbed his arm.  
“TAY RUN!” he yelled as the one who’d been stabbed pulled the tool from his gut and threw it aside.  
Working on adrenaline alone, Taylor pulled his gag down and twisted to get out of the last soldier’s grip before bolting for the door. He managed to get it all the way open before his escort yelled to alert the others, but as he stepped through he was met by the bloodied scalpel to his throat.  
“No, no, no…” he pleaded as he backed into the room again, pushed by the thin pressure.  
“Are you the one meant for my table?” the elder man in a white lab coat looked curious.  
“NO!” Zac yelled as the two men managed to contain him.  
They replaced his gag as the third soldier came to reclaim Taylor, pulling him away from the blade.


	115. 115

“Est-il le mien?” the newcomer looked between the soldiers, one of the ones holding Zac obviously having trouble breathing all of a sudden.  
“Oui,” the one holding Taylor nodded.  
Taylor felt like he was going to throw up. The man was every bit the image of a madman surgeon from any standard horror movie. His cold blue gaze regarded Taylor with interest as Zac began to struggle again. One of his handlers was injured, and he was going to take advantage if he could.  
When the other had had enough however, he simply punched Zac in the gut. Winded, he had to hunch over and give up for the moment.  
Taylor flinched as he heard the impact, but his eyes were locked to the scalpel the newcomer was still holding.  
“Le Boucher,” the soldier holding him mused.  
“And this would be…?”   
“Jordan Hanson.”  
The ‘butcher’ finally set the scalpel onto a nearby sink, but it didn’t make Taylor feel any better. In the background Zac was having his arms strung above his head – the cuffs being secured by way of a smaller zip tie to a steel railing. Once his wrists were secured the second soldier punched him again as the first stood aside to check his wound over.  
With Zac secured the second headed back over to Taylor and took his opposite arm.  
“Table?” his eyebrows rose.  
“Oui,” the ‘butcher’ nodded, “but take care. Do not hurt him.”  
Taylor frowned at that. They were going to kill him but didn’t want to hurt him?  
He was dragged backward – his feet unable to get any grip on the marble floor – and taken to the centre table. He could see brackets in strategic places where restraints would go, and knew instinctively that if he laid down there he wouldn’t be getting up again.  
He hit the side of the table with his hands and used it as leverage to push himself back.  
“No! Please!” he pleaded, his voice now shaking, “don’t make me do it, please! I don’t want to die!”  
“Is that so?” he couldn’t help but shiver as the man in white responded.  
The soldiers paused in their roughhousing as he stepped around to the other side of the table. Taylor’s eyes followed him, his desperation already making them red.  
“What exactly are you afraid of?” he asked, continuing with his curious demeanour.  
“Excuse me?” Taylor looked incredulous.  
“It’s a simple enough question,” he continued stoically, “are you afraid of death itself, or something else?”  
A muffled cry came from Zac’s direction and Taylor turned to look over his shoulder.  
“Ignore him,” the man insisted as a soldier took his shoulder to turn him back, “today is all about you. And that’s okay.”  
When a soldier tried to take hold of Taylor to push him up, Taylor grabbed the edge of the table again to hold himself back.  
“No, it’s not okay,” he shook his head determinedly, “this is anything _but_ okay. What you people are doing is sick, and I don’t think in this case that the punishment fits the crime.”  
“Crime? What is it that you think you were guilty of?”  
“Trying to live,” Taylor replied instantly, before something sharp hit his elbow.  
He cried out as his arm went numb and the soldiers finally managed to pull his arms out of the way.


	116. 116

Taylor fought as hard as he could as his back hit the cold metal. When he managed to break free from one side, that soldier suddenly grabbed him by the hair and hit his head back against the hard table. Taylor groaned as he saw stars, vaguely hearing some cries coming from Zac’s direction.  
By the time his wits returned to him his hands had been cut free but secured to the table with medical grade leather strapping. He tried to feel for the clasps but he couldn’t find them.  
“Please don’t do this,” his voice broke, feeling his eyes start to well up.  
“Calm down,” he heard the butcher’s voice before he appeared to his left, “you will not be alone. I’ll be here to guide you through it. You’re about to embark on an incredible journey, Jordan.”  
“It’s Taylor,” he whispered, trying to bring his knees up before the soldiers roughly strapped his ankles down too, “I go by Taylor.”  
“I understand. Taylor, then,” the man relented, “would you like me to describe the process we will be going through together? For some it helps to know, for others it doesn’t.”  
Taylor tried to swallow the lump in his throat as he watched the soldiers continue to restrain him to the table. Aside from on his arms the strapping was rather thin. He tried to stop the thoughts from coming but it was too late as his mind tortured him with reasons such as their placing making it easier to dissect him later on.  
“I don’t know,” his eyes darted, before deciding that it might buy him more time, “yes I guess?”  
“Leave us,” the butcher ordered the soldiers, “we need to be alone.”  
“Qu’est-ce qu’il?” one of them asked, indicating Zac.  
“Il sera bien,” he responded.  
Taylor tried to sit up slightly before he gently pressed down on his chest. Turning his head to watch the soldiers leave – the one who’d been stabbed already out of sight – he momentarily made eye contact with Zac. He looked terrified, and Taylor knew he probably looked much the same.  
Not wanting to make him worse he hurriedly looked back to the ceiling before following the butcher with his eyes as he began to ready some equipment just out of Taylor’s view.  
“You’re a lucky one,” he continued in the same calm tone, “I can’t give you any painkillers for your other injuries as they’ll corrupt your bloodstream, but this process should be otherwise painless. Others often aren’t so lucky I’m afraid.”  
“Just tell me what you’re going to do,” Taylor pleaded, wondering how death could possibly be anything but painful.  
“I’ll begin by carefully draining your blood,” he offered straight up, making Taylor close his eyes as he felt the nausea coming back, “you won’t need all of it for your organs to continue functioning long enough to be of use to someone else. At around thirty per cent blood loss you’ll slip into a peaceful sleep. At approximately forty, your heart will slowly stop. Then my work begins.”  
Taylor cringed as he tried to ignore the muffled cries coming from Zac.   
“I promise you won’t feel anything when it starts,” he added.  
“Is there anything I can say, or do, to stop this from happening?” Taylor looked up at him, “because I will do anything they want. I swear I will. If I don’t have to die today, I will do anything.”  
He felt like he was on a rollercoaster. Only hours ago he knew he was going to be saved.  
The man stopped whatever he was doing and returned to Taylor’s side, gently putting a hand to his forehead as he hushed him.   
“It will be an absolute honour to share these last moments with you,” he said softly, “as it should be for your brother to witness. All you need to do is let go.”


	117. 117

Zac’s eyes shot to the doors where he could see one of the soldiers had remained just outside to stand guard. He was keeping his eye on Zac in case he was likely to try anything else, but save for cutting off one of his hands with willpower alone Zac was out of ideas.  
“Let go?” Taylor’s voice broke as he tried to clarify.  
“You’ve had a hard time, no?” the man’s stare didn’t waver, “you’ve been on the lam. Running for your life. It’s time to slow down. It’s time to rest now.”  
Taylor drew in a shaky breath and closed his eyes again.  
“Aren’t you tired?” he heard him ask without moving.  
“Yes,” Taylor whispered in reply, his brow furrowing.  
Zac tried to cry out again, petrified that his brother was buying into it.  
“No more running. No more fighting…” the butcher seemed to promise, “just sleep.”  
Taylor took another deep breath before opening his eyes again. The man hadn’t moved and was now calmly moving strands of hair from Taylor’s face.  
“Are you a religious man, Taylor?” he asked him once he’d focused.  
“Yes,” Taylor replied.  
“Would you like your last rites?”  
Taylor immediately felt the tears start to fall. Unable to bring himself to say it, he could only nod.  
“I will return shortly with the priest,” he promised, giving Taylor a short smile before falling back.  
Taylor waited until he heard the doors open and close again before closing his eyes and letting go of the tears he’d managed to hold back. Zac began struggling against the ties again, trying desperately to at least loosen them before the butcher returned. Keeping his eye to the doors he could see the soldier casually leaning against the wall while studying his gun.  
“Zac I’m sorry.”  
He was suddenly distracted by Taylor. He looked over to see his eyes still closed, tears already staining his cheeks.  
“…But he’s right.”  
Zac moaned into the gag, tears threatening to spill down his own face. The fact that he remained gagged meant he couldn’t even encourage his brother to fight. He couldn’t even relay the speech Taylor had given him from Krüger’s cage about keeping his kids in his thoughts and needing to stay alive for them. He could think of a million reasons just off the top of his head for him to fight, he just couldn’t say them out loud.  
“I am tired,” Taylor’s voice broke again as he opened his eyes to look to the ceiling, “I’m tired of running for my life. I’m tired of fighting them. I’m just… tired.”  
Zac just moaned and shook his head, wishing he’d just look up and maybe see the plea in his eyes.  
“We’re already dead,” Taylor reasoned, “this isn’t living. We’re struggling to even exist right now.”  
He stopped to take another deep breath.  
“I already spoke to Ike, when Nate had us,” he revealed, “and he knows I’m ready. I need you to know that too.”  
Zac tried to yell that it was a lie, but nothing came out. He barely choked on what little moisture was left in his throat. Another glance to the right saw the butcher returning.  
“I’m ready,” Taylor nodded to himself with determination, “I’m ready for this nightmare to be over. I’m ready to wake up.”  
The doors opened and Taylor didn’t lose the look. The butcher calmly returned to his side alone.


	118. 118

“You’ll feel a small scratch.”  
Taylor clenched his teeth as he felt the needle go in. Once it was in, the pain wasn’t so bad. The butcher’s calm tones alone were soothing enough to keep his eyes heavy.  
“And… that’s all there is to it. Are you comfortable?”  
Taylor looked up at the odd question.  
“As far as I can be,” he replied softly, “where’s the priest?”  
“He’ll be in shortly,” the butcher assured, gently placing a hand on Taylor’s upper arm, “maybe after you’ve fallen asleep. But he’ll be here. You’ll find your place with God.”  
“Thank you,” Taylor whispered, his eyes suddenly feeling dry.  
Zac watched as the butcher double checked the tubing running from Taylor’s arm down to a steel bucket placed on the floor. Inside it sat a blood bag which was already slowly filling.  
Taylor was already running out of time.  
“If you would like me to leave, I will need to return every ten minutes or so,” the butcher returned to his side.  
“Don’t go,” Taylor pleaded softly.  
The butcher hesitated, but nodded.  
“Very well,” he relented, “I will stay with you until you fall asleep.”  
Taylor almost breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to be alone, and despite his occupation the man was somewhat effectively keeping him pacified.  
“I suggest if you have any final words for your brother, you begin to get them off your chest,” he added, “we don’t have long now.”  
Taylor gulped slightly before finally bringing himself to look across at Zac. Just the sight of him obviously devastated was making it hard to keep himself together, but he took another deep breath and managed a short smile.  
“It’s okay,” he tried to reassure him, “it’s all gonna be okay.”  
Zac just shook his head in defeat.  
“And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”  
Taylor tried not to let emotion cloud his voice, but it was hard. Zac was already looking confused.  
“If I had have fought Nate when it counted, like back at the butcher store in Tulsa… like in the woods ten years ago even… none of this would have happened. Maybe in a roundabout way I deserve this, if only for what it’s done to you.”  
Zac shook his head more forcefully and Taylor had to divert his eyes for a moment.  
“Anyway, I’m sorry,” he continued, “I’m sorry for getting you into this. And if I could-“  
He trailed off and turned his head back, closing his eyes for a moment. He was starting to feel light-headed.  
Taking a moment to gather his thoughts again, he looked back to Zac.  
“If I could change it, I would,” he amended.  
Zac frowned, looking to the butcher. Taylor already seemed to be fading and the process hadn’t been going long.  
“It’s perfectly normal,” he supplied when he noticed, “you’ll start to feel a little light-headed, and perhaps a little nauseas. Okay Taylor?”  
Taylor nodded, definitely feeling it. The feeling was making it hard to concentrate on what he wanted to say to Zac, and he was beginning to see stars across his vision again.


	119. 119

“Tell Nat I’m sorry I didn’t keep my word,” Taylor added after a moment of silence, “I know you’ll get back to her. But I was only going to be a danger to all of you with this thing in my arm now.”  
Zac hung his head for a moment before deciding he’d better keep his eyes on his brother in case he missed anything.  
“And I know it sounds weird, but I’m glad you’re here.”  
The butcher hushed him a little when he realised he was getting worked up, returning to his side after replacing the blood bag with an empty one.   
“Time to slow down now,” he insisted, “just take shallow breaths. In and out, slowly in and out.”  
Taylor nodded, doing as he’d said.  
“At least this is better than anything Seth would have done,” he couldn’t help but muse, not bothering to check if Zac got the joke.  
He knew he wouldn’t have.  
He grimaced as a wave of vertigo suddenly hit him and he started feeling dehydrated. The butcher returned to his side, ready to calm him again.  
“So I just go to sleep?” Taylor asked as he looked up at him, his voice cracking a little purely through effort at getting it out now.  
“Yes,” the butcher nodded, “you just go to sleep.”  
He was certainly feeling tired. He mused in his head that he certainly felt ‘drained’ but couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.   
“And I don’t wake up,” Taylor’s voice had lowered to a whisper.  
“Picture a beautiful sunset,” the butcher offered as Taylor closed his eyes, “soft and slow, warm and inviting. Just fading away. Sleeping forever.”  
Taylor felt his breathing even out as his eyes became too heavy to open again. The warning flashes behind his eyes were getting more and more persistent and for a moment they made him try to cover his eyes, but he didn’t even have the strength to pull on the restraints anymore.   
He felt the butcher place a hand on his chest, feeling for his heartbeat.  
Zac watched like a hawk as his tears continued to flow. After a long moment of silence, the butcher stepped aside to collect a stethoscope from the third table. He delicately lifted the front of Taylor’s shirt, visibly cringing a little at all the scars he’d been unaware of, before breathing onto the end and placing it over Taylor’s heart. Timing it against his watch, he nodded with satisfaction.  
Setting the tool aside he took some scissors and cut the front of Taylor’s shirt open. Zac could very barely make out that his brother was still breathing, so knew he wasn’t dead yet. But it was getting shallower and shallower…  
The butcher stepped aside and pressed a buzzer. With a frown as he wondered what he was doing, Zac jumped when the glass doors opened again.  
“Il est fait,” the butcher nodded to the soldier who entered, “l’emmener.”  
As the soldier came for him, Zac realised this was going to be it. The butcher had already readied his scalpel and had started drawing lines over Taylor’s front with a blue pen. The moment the soldier cut the tie holding his hands above his head, Zac’s hands flew to his gag and pulled it down.  
“You’re all going to die for this, I swear to God,” he pledged through his tears.  
“With that attitude I’m sure you’ll be seeing him again very shortly,” the butcher mused, placing his scalpel at Taylor’s collarbone and beginning the standard ‘Y’ incision.  
Zac no longer had the energy to fight back as he was pulled from the room.


	120. 120

Zac found he could barely walk as he was pulled through the doors to the elevator. Time felt especially slow as they waited for it to arrive, and Zac debated whether or not to look over his shoulder. He knew what was happening in there and he knew that Taylor wouldn’t want him to see it.  
When the elevator doors finally opened, the promised priest stepped out.  
“Père,” the soldier nodded.  
The priest offered a short smile before he stepped aside. Behind him, Nate held a gun to his throat.  
“Nate?!” Zac’s eyes widened.  
“Step aside,” Nate nodded to the soldier whose hand immediately went to his own weapon.  
“You won’t shoot him,” the soldier insisted in struggled English.  
“No?” Nate feigned surprise, “but I’ll shoot you.”  
He aimed and fired. The bullet hit between the eyes and the man went down.  
“Nate!” Zac barely registered the fatality, “they’re killing him!”  
Nate’s eyes went to the glass doors and he bolted. The second he had them aside his gun was aimed.  
The butcher stepped back from his cutting work as Nate studied the scene to work out what was done.  
“How long has he been out?” he demanded as Zac appeared behind him.  
“Nathaniel…” the butcher sneered.  
Zac’s eyes shot between them. They knew each other?  
“If you persist with your rebellion, you know the same will happen to you eventually,” the butcher gave him a curious look.  
“Just answer the question,” Nate knew fully well that he was stalling for time, and Taylor wasn’t breathing.  
“Nathan…” the voice of the priest came from behind them, “please, don’t do this…”  
“Taylor said the same thing,” Zac scowled in his direction, “how could you of all people let this happen?!”  
“Answer the question!” Nate was getting agitated.  
“Long enough,” the butcher replied.  
Nate quickly looked over Taylor’s body. As lifeless as it seemed, he still had some colour to him. He was willing to take the bet.  
“Reverse it,” he ordered.  
“I think not,” the butcher chortled.  
Zac had ducked over to fetch the scalpel he’d used to stab the smaller soldier and began trying to cut the ties from his wrists. But the blade was too thin and the ties were too thick. With a frustrated grunt he slid around behind Nate and went to Taylor’s head, feeling his neck.  
“Tay? Tay?! Wake up!” he began crying desperately, going so far as to slap his face.  
“Last chance,” Nate warned.  
“Then go ahead,” the butcher stepped aside, continuing to stare Nate down, “you know the fate of which awaits me if I do as you say.”  
Nat fired. The bullet hit the man in the chest and he fell backward into the cabinets as he clutched at the red appearing on his coat.  
“Nate what are you doing?!” Zac exclaimed, “he’s the only one that could save him!”  
“He’s not the only one,” Nate assured, pausing only to remove his jacket, “if we move fast enough.”


	121. 121

“You can reverse it?” Zac’s eyes remained wide as Nate began fussing with the equipment, ignoring the groans coming from the other side of the table where the butcher remained on the floor.  
“What can I say? You tend to learn some messed up crap in this business,” Nate murmured, concentrating more on the task at hand.  
He carefully removed the needle from Taylor’s arm before replacing it with a second that looked only slightly dissimilar. The same tube went into it as Nate began to reverse the process.  
“Grab some gauze for that wound,” Nate eyed the cut in Taylor’s chest, “there should be some in one of those cupboards.”  
Zac clenched his jaw – not wanting to leave Taylor’s side – but relented. Trying to ignore the butcher who’d started coughing he practically ransacked two of the cupboards before finding what he was after. Returning to his brother he plastered it over his chest.  
“Hold it down,” Nate insisted, “he doesn’t need to lose any more than he already has.”  
“What if it doesn’t work?” Zac had obvious fear in his eyes, “I don’t know how long it’s been since he stopped breathing. Shouldn’t we be doing CPR or something?!”  
“In a moment,” Nate was concentrating still.  
“Nate I can’t feel his heart!” Zac exclaimed.  
“Zac shut up!” Nate ordered as he massaged Taylor’s arm to get the blood flowing.  
Zac bit his lip and set to watching Taylor. He seemed to be getting paler already. The following few seconds felt like hours before Nate suddenly pushed Zac aside.  
“Go around there and hold the gauze,” he instructed before starting chest compression.  
Zac did as he was told, already willing to give his left arm if it meant that Taylor would start breathing again. He shifted the gun that Nate had left on the table aside before resuming his previous position holding the gauze over the chest wound. He did his best to stay out of Nate’s way.  
Once Nate had a rhythm going he began full CPR. Sometime later, he paused.  
“What?” Zac panicked, “what is it?! Keep going!”  
Nate raised an eyebrow, before taking one of Zac’s hands and placing it over Taylor’s heart. Zac felt the tears of relief coming when he felt it beat. Weakly, but it beat.  
“Oh God,” he breathed, his legs struggling to hold him up, “is he breathing?”  
“He’s breathing,” Nate confirmed, “albeit shallowly.”  
“Thank you,” Zac looked up at him, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thank you!”  
“Don’t thank me yet,” Nate insisted, grabbing his jacket and putting it over Taylor’s chest to try and give him some warmth, “wait until he regains consciousness. He could be in a coma.”  
Zac’s eyes fell again before Nate turned to look for a towel. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed they had company, his hand darting to his belt for a gun that wasn’t there.  
“Nathan,” Creed seemed to scorn, flanked by two of his soldiers, “I knew you’d come back eventually. But your reasons puzzle me.”  
Zac’s head had shot up and he automatically ducked below the table a little. They obviously knew he was there, but it gave them less of a chance of hitting him with anything.  
“Come on Tay, wake up…” he whispered.  
“Is that so?” Nate raised an eyebrow, not seeming to be overly intimidated.  
“I had heard rumour about this boy somehow being responsible for bringing you out of the woodwork,” Creed absently indicated Taylor, “until now I guess I didn’t believe it.”  
“So believe it,” Nate shrugged, “then get over it and tell me your game.”


	122. 122

“Game?” Creed raised an eyebrow as he took a step forward, “my boy, if anyone is playing games, I’d think it would be you.”  
Nate rolled his eyes and Creed suddenly grabbed his chin to hold it in place. He didn’t fight back.  
“Don’t roll your eyes at me,” he ordered, “the time for games is over. You’re home now.”  
Zac frowned, wondering what he meant by that. He began eyeing the gun sitting on the table just a few feet away. If he could get to it he could use it to defend himself and Taylor, but Nate was on his own. But considering his hands were still bound, he’d have to be careful.  
“This hasn’t been my home for some time,” Nate insisted once Creed let him go.  
“No it hasn’t,” Creed agreed, making sure to stay forward in his personal space, “not since you gave yourself up for death row. Good job on that, by the way. I never did get the chance to thank you for your services.”  
“Just doing my job,” Nate’s eyes followed Creed as he stepped to the side.  
He walked to the head of the table, looking down at where Zac had been reaching for the gun.  
“I wouldn’t do that,” he suggested darkly.  
Zac froze when he realised he’d been sprung before quickly taking his hands back. Eyeing the soldiers with their own guns still steadily aimed, he opted not to stand up as his instincts told him to.  
Creed just gave him a condescending smile before returning his attention to Nate.  
“You killed a lot of people on your way in here,” he said with a hint of disappointment.  
“Only the ones that got in my way,” Nate assured.  
“Hmm.”  
Zac’s eyes darted between them, keeping the rise and fall of Taylor’s chest in his peripheral. It was starting to feel like a very Godzilla/Mothra moment, and he was the tiny civilian about to be crushed.  
“Still. The fact that you expected to be able to walk in here and take this… 352 without any repercussions…” Creed tsked, “that’s not like you at all. What happened to you, Nathan?”  
“I went to jail,” Nate offered.  
“And what happened to you when you escaped?” Creed’s voice lowered, “ten years… and not even a phone call? That hurts me, Nathan.”  
“I didn’t think you wanted me,” Nate suddenly looked confused, “that is the standard procedure, isn’t it?”  
“No one’s managed to escape from prison before,” Creed took a step closer, Nate grimacing at the warmth of his breath hitting him, “you’re hardly a part of standard procedure anymore.”  
“So what do you want me to do?” Nate locked eyes with him.  
“I want you…” Creed trailed a finger down his chest, “to help me teach my brother a lesson.”  
Nate frowned, nonetheless intrigued. Creed pulled a dagger from his belt, turning the blade and stepping back so that he could hold the handle out to Nate.  
“Kill 352,” Creed ordered.  
“What?” Zac gasped as Nate simply raised an eyebrow.  
“We’ll find you another slave,” Creed promised him, “you can take your pick from what we currently have if you’d like. But this one has caused far too much trouble already. You know yourself.”  
“Nate, no! Don’t!” Zac pleaded as one of the soldiers stepped around the table to collect him.  
Nate had already taken the blade and turned his attention to Taylor’s body.  
“Please Nate!” Zac begged as he was pulled to his feet and around the table, “you were helping us! You’ve always tried to keep him alive! Don’t give up now, _please_!”


	123. 123

“You know that he needs to die,” Creed was ignoring Zac, shadowing Nate’s shoulder, “we all know it. You should be honoured to be asked at all.”  
“I am,” Nate assured as he looked down at Taylor, “but I’m torn.”  
“Torn?” Creed’s brow raised, “tell me… what makes this one so special that you’d bring him so many thousands of miles to his death?”  
Zac could see that Nate was struggling, but with the barrel of a handgun digging into his side he wasn’t brave enough to encourage his doubt right now. And he had his back to him.  
The second soldier was meanwhile helping the butcher out of the room. He wasn’t looking good, but he was still able to walk. The two obviously weren’t worried about controlling Nate, which put Zac even more on edge.  
“We have a history,” Nate admitted, “when I escaped from prison, my cellmate took him as a hostage to cross the state border. I would have disappeared forever if eight years later he simply hadn’t recognised me.”  
“I see…” Creed seemed to ponder, “so you wouldn’t necessarily be interested in a replacement?”  
“I don’t think anyone could replace him,” Nate’s eyes shifted over his body, pausing at the red abrasions on one of his wrists.  
Leaning forward slightly, he began undoing the buckle on the strap with his left hand. His right still tightly held the dagger.  
“So it’s not so much a crisis of conscience, as it is a selfish desire to have him for yourself,” Creed reasoned.  
“I guess so,” Nate relented, “should I be ashamed of that?”  
“Not at all,” Creed assured, “in fact I’m proud you’ve stuck to your guns, as it were. But unfortunately the orders can’t change. He has caused far too much trouble to just let him live.”  
“So let me take him,” Nate offered an alternative, raising his eyes to Creed again, “I can keep him out of the way. You’ll never hear from us again.”  
“Nathan, are you defying a direct order?”  
Zac’s eyes shot between them. Either this was the head of the Creed hierarchy, or something more sinister was going on. At this point he couldn’t tell.  
“No,” Nate responded, sparing the soldier that held Zac a glance, “I’m just buying time.”  
“For what?” Creed frowned.  
Nate threw the dagger. It landed in the throat of the soldier, and as he staggered backward Zac ducked off to the side. Creed had his gun out just as fast and had it aimed at Nate’s head. Just the sight of it intimidated Zac. It was similar to Krüger’s in shape, but plated with gold and covered in ornate engravings. These guys weren’t shy of throwing their money around.  
“Nathan…” he began in a warning tone.  
Nate hadn’t moved after the throw. After watching the last gurgles of life dissipate from the soldier, his eyes locked on Creed’s again.  
“What are you doing?” Creed demanded.  
“Giving us some time alone,” Nate’s voice had turned scornful.  
“Really?” Creed’s eyebrows rose, “yet I thought you were only killing those who got in your way?”  
“You’re getting in my way,” Nate glowered.  
“Are you going to kill me, Nate?”  
“Of course not,” Nate admitted, “but Zac doesn’t have my limitations.”


	124. 124

Creed’s eyebrows rose as Zac’s eyes widened. Suddenly the gun was aimed in his direction.  
“You want Zac to kill me?” Creed looked amused.  
“You want me to what?” Zac’s voice shook.  
Aside from his hands still being tightly bound, he had no easy access to a weapon. Besides what the now dead soldier held, but anything he had was going to be hard to use.  
Nate stared Zac down as Creed took a step forward.  
“What’s to stop me from killing him now?” Creed mused, keeping the aim steadily on Zac’s head.  
“Nothing. So if you want to save yourself, go ahead,” Nate shrugged, shifting a little as he looked back down at Taylor as if to check he was still breathing.  
“What?!” Zac looked incredulous.  
He’d managed to back himself over to the cabinets where the bloody scalpel still sat. At this point it wasn’t going to do him any good, however.  
Creed almost broke out laughing before he lowered the gun.  
“You really think I’m intimidated by this slave?” he looked back to Nate, “you of all people would know me better than that.”  
“Hey Zac,” Nate began almost conversationally, “if I handed you a gun, you’d take the both of us out right?”  
“Nate what are you doing?” his eyes darted between them.  
“He took out a lot of Seth’s cronies in the escape,” Nate looked back to Creed, “I don’t doubt for a second that he’d take Seth out if he had the chance.”  
“I believe he was only capable of that by your influence,” Creed’s eyes narrowed.  
Nate shrugged.  
“Maybe,” he reasoned, “but maybe Seth bet on the wrong horse all along. He always wanted Taylor to be a recruiter. Like me.”  
Zac felt his heart skip a beat at the revelation.  
“I think he made a mistake.”  
Nate definitely had Creed’s undivided attention. And now he had Zac’s.  
“I think he should have bet on Zac all along.”  
“What?” Zac wasn’t sure how much longer his heart was going to take this showdown; his fear seemed to amplify every time Nate opened his mouth.  
“Why is that?” Creed ignored him.  
“Zac knows what’s good for him, and he gets the job done,” Nate shrugged, “what more do you want? Seth’s tried multiple times to bring Taylor under his wing, and God knows why. If he wasn’t so high profile he would have shot him and been done with it by now.”  
“This is 353, yes?” Creed indicated Zac with the gun, “wasn’t he the one Fowler wanted?”  
“Fowler?” Nate frowned before looking to Zac, “Fowler bought you?”  
“Yeah?” Zac tried to keep it together enough to now answer questions.  
“Wow, okay…”  
“You can see the problem there,” Creed pointed out, “what Fowler wants, Fowler gets. This would be why Seth recounted his kill order.”  
“But why does Fowler want him?” Nate frowned.  
“He didn’t say, he was just very persistent from what I hear,” Creed looked equally confused, “Seth’s on his way here now to return him to Alaska.”


	125. 125

“How long?” Nate asked.  
“Until Seth gets here? I’d say within the hour,” Creed replied.  
“And he’s the one who put the kill order on Taylor?”  
“Yes. Although I suggested it a year or so ago myself. So can we get a move on?”  
Nate was now leaning on the other side of Taylor’s table, his eyes locked to Creed’s. If Taylor hadn’t have been there, it would have been a good time for Zac to make a run for it.  
“With what?” Nate raised an eyebrow.  
“Don’t blame me for the knife being dirty. Go and get it,” Creed ordered.  
Nate winced, but made to do as he’d ordered. Casting Zac a glance on his way, Zac could only feel confused when he didn’t seem to feel a shred of worry.  
“Nate…” he began again, “please. Tay has only ever done what you’ve asked of him. He doesn’t deserve this and you know it.”  
Nate stooped to the soldier, plucking the dagger from his throat emotionlessly.  
“Why go to all the effort of saving him just to give up now?!” Zac’s voice was breaking as he pleaded.  
“Obviously this one wasn’t trained as well as he could have been,” Creed mused.  
He waited until Zac’s eyes met his again.  
“Son, a slave never disobeys his master,” he assured, “not when they’re given a direct order.”  
“I’m sorry Zac,” Nate shook his head as he wiped the dagger clean on his pants, “he’s right.”  
“You’re his master?” the incredulous look was back on Zac’s face.  
Creed’s eyes moved to Nate. When he saw the look he made his way back to Taylor’s side.  
“Are you serious?” Zac’s eyebrows rose, “so that’s it?!”  
“I said I’m sorry,” Nate was getting agitated, “but what do you want me to do? I’m in a bind here.”  
“Fight back!” Zac scorned, “stand up for what you want for once! It’s been what… over ten years since he’s been your master? Don’t you want to stay your own person?”  
“Nathan,” Creed’s voice came over his shoulder, “are you listening to this young man?”  
“No,” Nate assured, his eyes locked on Taylor again.  
“Good. So get on with it. Right in the heart, let’s get this done and move on out.”  
Nate hesitated. Zac couldn’t see his face, but he felt as if the tension in the room had suddenly risen. He couldn’t tell why but knew he’d soon find out.  
“I’m not going to kill him,” Nate said decidedly, twisting the dagger in his hand.  
“What?” Creed demanded, “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you properly. Come again?”  
Nate looked up at him before turning his body to face him.  
“Like I said,” he looked almost smug, “I was just buying time.”  
His left fist met Creed’s face. Stunned by the hit he staggered backward, and Zac used the diversion to go for the scalpel.  
Creed went to raise his pistol but Nate grabbed the wrist and twisted, following the older man to his knees as he fell. The gun clattered to the ground and Nate turned slightly.  
“Zac!” he got his attention before throwing the dagger handle-first.  
Zac dropped the scalpel and caught it, immediately using it to cut his wrists free. But as he’d turned Nate had taken a blow of his own and ended up on his knees, holding his head. Creed grabbed for the gun before standing and aiming it between the two. It fell on Nate.  
“Nathan, I am extremely disappointed in you,” he looked down before clicking the safety off.  
Another loud gunshot filled the lab.


	126. 126

Zac looked across in shock as Creed collapsed where he stood.  
Taylor dropped the gun before collapsing back onto the table.  
“Tay?!” Zac shot across to him as soon as it registered.  
Nate struggled to pull himself to his feet, reaching out for Creed’s gun as he did so. Once standing he took a moment to look down on the body in silence.  
“Tay?” Zac tried again, grabbing his right hand but remaining careful of the tubing in his arm.  
Taylor only groaned in response. His eyes had closed again and they wouldn’t open as hard as he tried.  
“Tay come on, we need to get out of here!” Zac’s heart rate had skyrocketed once again.  
Nate finally came to Zac’s side, still holding Creed’s golden gun. Zac flinched back a little before gathering himself.  
“Was it all a ruse?” he asked worriedly, “you’re really not gonna kill him?”  
“Don’t need to now,” Nate shrugged, “I saw him waking up. I knew if I could distract him long enough that _one_ of you would pull the trigger at least.”  
Zac’s eyes lowered, realising the whole conversation had been a big hint for him to go for the gun. Mentally kicking himself he returned his attention to Taylor.  
“He’s going out again,” he shook his head.  
“No he’s not,” Nate assured, setting the gun by Taylor’s head before grabbing his chin and speaking in a harsh tone, “Taylor? Wake up. That’s an order.”  
Taylor groaned again, frowning as he tried to concentrate on taking deep breaths.  
“Can you open your eyes?” Nate asked.  
Taylor opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out just yet. Nate checked the dilation of his pupils before indicating for Zac to undo the rest of the strapping holding him down.  
“We need to get him out of here,” Zac insisted as he complied, “Seth could be here any minute and I am _not_ going back to Alaska.”  
“Our chances of not meeting Seth on the way out are very slim,” Nate didn’t help, “Taylor? Stay with me. Are you awake?”  
Taylor gave an affirmative groan. Nate stepped away from his head for a moment and took hold of his left hand.  
“Squeeze my hand, Taylor. Can you feel that?”  
Taylor did as he was told. It was weak, but he managed. The movement brought a short smile to Nate’s face and he dropped his hand before ducking to the other side.  
“What are you doing now?” Zac frowned as he finished his work.  
“This isn’t going to finish in time,” Nate insisted, lifting the bucket the blood bags sat in.  
The one that had been going in was almost empty. Another full one sat beside it.  
“We’re going to have to take this with us and either get him to a hospital or continue ourselves elsewhere. He should be okay as long as we don’t take too long.”  
He disconnected the tubing and carefully removed the needle from Taylor’s arm. As soon as it came out Taylor shifted on the table slightly.  
“Tay?” Zac returned to his side a moment before he finally opened his eyes.  
“Zac?” Taylor managed to gasp out.  
“Hey,” Zac couldn’t stop the smile forming, “yeah I’m here. Are you?”  
“Yeah,” Taylor replied, feeling very much like throwing up as he looked to the ceiling, “I’m here.”


	127. 127

“One, two, three!”  
On three, Zac helped Nate sit his brother up on the table. Taylor groaned in response but could do nothing to resist.   
“I need him on my right side,” Nate instructed Zac as they shifted him, “can you carry that?”  
“Yeah,” Zac nodded, reaching down to pick up the bucket with his right hand.  
Nate held Taylor with his right hand as he took Creed’s gun with his left and slid it into his belt. That done he skirted the table and managed to throw Taylor’s left arm over his shoulders.  
“You ready?” he asked Zac as he did the same on the opposite side.  
“Ready,” Zac agreed.  
They both lifted Taylor from the table. His feet hit the floor, but very little weight was supported by them. Taylor managed to keep his eyes open as he was lifted through the doorway and Nate hit the button for the elevator.  
“What if we run into Seth?” Zac looked across at him.  
“Crossing that bridge if we come to it,” Nate tried to ignore the prospect.  
The elevator doors opened and they shifted inside.  
“And where’s Ike?” Zac asked as the doors closed again, “how’d you two separate?”  
“The army found him,” Nate hit the ground floor button, “the real army. I let myself get caught in order to find you guys. They were supposed to follow us, but I haven’t heard anything and I’ve been here a while.”  
“How long is a while?”  
“You had about an hour head start?” Nate guessed.  
“Where are we?” Taylor managed to whisper.  
“Paris,” Zac replied straight away, “just concentrate on waking up. We might need you.”  
Taylor managed to hold his head up and set his right foot on the ground by the time the elevator stopped. Nate debated for a moment whether to take his hand again or keep hold of the gun, but opted to hold his arm down in the end.  
When the doors opened to a sort of lobby area, Nate’s eyes darted as they stepped out. There were a few people wandering around but luckily none of them were soldiers.  
A woman in her mid-thirties dressed in a business suit was the first to spot them, but Nate pulled them aside to a fire escape. Before Zac could ask where they were going they’d hit the outside. It was still daylight, but barely.  
“Where do we go?” Zac was back to looking worried.  
“Can you hold him?” Nate asked.  
“Ah… I guess?”  
Zac barely had time to brace himself before Taylor’s weight was on him. He leant back against the wall as Nate attempted to block the doorway so no one could follow them out.  
“Come on Tay,” Zac grunted under his weight.  
Nate soon returned and pulled half of it back, grimacing again at the pain in his still-injured shoulder.  
“This way,” Nate nodded, leading them down the alley.  
Zac wanted to ask what they were going to do, but for fear of sounding like a broken record he held back. When they got to the cross street Nate stopped them. There was plenty of traffic going through, so Zac’s suspicion of being kept in the city had been founded.  
Shifting Taylor’s weight slightly, Nate pulled the gun on the first taxi that came past.


	128. 128

“Did you have to?” Zac scorned.  
“Not really a lot of options here,” Nate defended as he made sure to keep the gun wedged into the nape of the driver’s neck.  
“Whoa!” Zac suddenly grabbed Taylor’s chest as he was about to fall forward.  
Taylor only grunted in return. Keeping one eye on the traffic behind them, Zac started trying to get the cut shirt off his shoulders.  
“What are you doing?” Nate frowned.  
“We’re not walking in looking homeless,” Zac muttered under his breath.  
“So we’re going to walk in looking like torture victims instead?”  
“Isn’t that what we are?” Zac pointed out.  
Before Nate could retort, they pulled into the emergency department of an Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris hospital.  
“You’re free to go,” Nate informed the driver as Zac immediately jumped out before struggling with Taylor, “and by all means call the cops if you feel the need.”  
The driver just gave him a confused look before Nate ducked out of the car and ran around to help Zac. Zac made sure to grab the bucket with the remaining blood bag and the tubing in it before the door closed, and the two began struggling to get Taylor inside.  
They were met inside by two nurses who came running at the sight of Taylor’s scarred body. Nate relinquished his hold as one of them fetched a wheelchair, and he took the bucket from Zac as he helped his brother into it. Babbling in French, Zac couldn’t understand what the nurses were trying to ask him.  
“I’m sorry,” he eventually shook his head, “parlez-vous anglais?”  
“Oui,” one of them nodded, “what happened?”  
“He’s lost a lot of blood,” Zac ran his fingers through his hair nervously, “and by a lot I mean _a lot_. Please, help him?”  
The second nurse nodded and began pushing him away. The first directed Zac to a desk where he needed to fill out some paperwork. He watched after Taylor nervously at first before making his way over. He was glad to find an English alternative in the documents and began filling them out as quickly as possible with whatever information he could provide.  
It was only when he finished that he looked around and realised he couldn’t see Nate. Hoping he hadn’t followed Taylor through, he set to waiting.  
The next thing to catch his attention was an armoured vehicle pulling up outside barely five minutes later.   
Jumping to his feet and remembering full well that the men who’d detained them had been dressed as soldiers, he ducked back into a corner of the waiting room. As he wondered for a moment how they could possibly have been found so fast, he winced when he remembered that Taylor still had the tracker in his arm.  
He heard the heavy boots as they made their way in. He knew if he didn’t move, he’d be found. But he couldn’t bring himself to leave Taylor there alone.  
The first person he saw was Isaac, who’d made a bee line for the front desk.  
“Ike?!” he called out in surprise.  
Isaac immediately turned and bolted for his brother.  
“Zac!” he exclaimed, “where’s Tay? What happened?!”


	129. 129

“He’s in there,” Zac indicated, “how did you find us so fast?!”  
“They had a watch on the hospitals I guess,” Isaac shrugged, “Taylor’s name came up and we came straight away. What’s going on?!”  
A soldier came up behind him, making Zac back off a little.  
“Is this your brother?” he asked of Isaac.  
“One of them, yes. Zac this is Sergent Dupont. Andrews assigned him specifically.”  
“Andrews has a team on their way,” Dupont nodded.  
“Seth’s in town,” Zac looked between them, “and Tay still has the tracer. We got a head start but I don’t know by how much.”  
“Who had you?” Isaac frowned.  
“Uh… Creed? The older one. I forgot his name,” Zac shrugged.  
“Ryan Creed,” Dupont said for him.  
“Yeah that one.”  
“So where’s he?” Isaac asked.  
“He’s dead. Tay… never mind. Ike, Tay lost a lot of blood. I’m sure he’s going to be okay, but…”  
He trailed off and bit his lip. Isaac gave the soldier a glance before taking Zac by the shoulder and stepping aside slightly. Dupont nodded to some of his men who made their way through the ward uninhibited. Zac watched after them worriedly.  
“What happened?” Isaac was staring him down.  
Zac looked like he didn’t want to say anything as he took a moment to gather his thoughts.  
“He died. For a second,” Zac quickly amended, “maybe a few minutes, I don’t know how long it was. He stopped breathing, and his heart stopped.”  
Isaac’s face had lost colour. Zac’s earlier statement of being sure Taylor would be okay was the only thing keeping him calm.  
“What did they do?” he managed to ask.  
Zac shook his head.  
“You don’t wanna know,” he rubbed at his left eye, “but he lost a lot of blood. I dunno… I guess however much it takes to kill you. Ike, they wanted him dead. Seth put a kill order on him.”  
Isaac took a moment to digest it before taking a step back.  
“And he definitely still has the tracer?” he confirmed.  
“Yeah,” Zac nodded, “we haven’t… I didn’t have a chance to tell the nurses. But he could have traced it here already anyway, we don’t know. He was due where we were at any second when we ran.”  
“Where’s Nate?”  
“I don’t know,” Zac shrugged, looking around again, “last I saw him was when they took Taylor in. I just assumed he followed him maybe.”  
They looked up as a soldier returned from the ward, his gun lazily slung from his shoulder.  
“Your brother’s okay, he’s now under guard,” the soldier spoke as if English were his first language, “where’s Devereux?”  
“Dammit,” Zac cursed.  
“Assumed he was with him,” Isaac covered for him.  
The soldier got onto his radio straight away.  
“C’est Sergent Lambert. Devereux est dans le vent,” he reported.  
A crackled reply came through as Isaac and Zac gave each other a worried look.


	130. 130

“Ike…?” Zac began cautiously once the soldier had stepped away.  
He waited until he had his attention.  
“Nate had the rest of Tay’s blood with him,” he frowned, “why would he take that?”  
Isaac froze, then grimaced a little.  
“I don’t know,” he shook his head, “but when we were at the cabin with him he did have to give him a blood transfusion at some point.”  
“Again?” Zac looked perplexed, “what the Hell is wrong with these people?”  
“Good question,” Isaac looked out across the waiting room, eyeing the soldiers constantly making their way through.  
He paused.  
“This isn’t over, is it? With Nate I mean,” Zac realised.  
“Zac…” Isaac began, “what’s to stop their soldiers from walking in here?”  
“You’d hope the real ones could tell the difference,” Zac frowned.  
“But what if it’s like Tulsa? They could be dirty. There’s nothing to stop a dirty cop from walking in and being Tay’s guard.”  
“You think they’d try something here?” Zac looked worried.  
“Let’s not give them a chance,” Isaac insisted, darting for the door of the ward.  
They found their way through and followed the line of soldiers to where two stood aside a curtain which obviously surrounded a bed. Dupont was one of them, and he frowned as they approached.  
“I don’t think you should be in here,” he suggested as he stepped forward.  
“We just want to see him,” Isaac insisted, hands up a little.  
“He’s in an induced coma right now,” Dupont offered.  
“What?” Zac demanded, “he was awake when we brought him in!”  
“I did say ‘induced’,” Dupont repeated, “he’s receiving a blood transfusion. They’ll wake him when it’s done.”  
Isaac gave Zac a pointed look before stepping aside a little.   
“How long will that take?” he asked.  
Dupont gave Zac a glance before turning to reply.  
“We don’t know. Most likely a few hours. The US army should be here by then.”  
Zac took the distraction to duck around him and under the curtain. Dupont saw him go and caught his arm as he went through.  
“Don’t make me-“  
“What are you doing?!” Zac demanded.  
There was a soldier in the space with the unconscious Taylor. He’d been playing with the tubing going into Taylor’s arm, and Zac’s eyes widened when he saw the slow-moving air bubble.  
“IKE?!” he yelled, wrestling out of the soldier’s grip and lunging forward.  
Dupont threw the curtain aside as the soldier in the room made a run for it.  
“Arrêter!” Dupont ordered, quickly deciphering what had happened.  
Zac had landed over Taylor’s pelvis and squeezed the tubing between his fingers to stop the flow.  
“Infirmière!” Dupont called out as the second guard ran after the evading soldier.  
Isaac had ducked around the bed, and unsure of what else to do began to pull the needle from Taylor’s arm. The sight made him nauseas but he knew what would happen if Zac’s fingers slipped.  
It wasn’t until he had it out that a nurse finally appeared at his side and took it from him.


	131. 131

“DAMMIT!” Zac yelled, finally pulling back, “where the hell is Andrews?!”  
“Calm down,” Isaac insisted, trying to work the older brother card as he stood back for the nurse, “they’ll get it under control.”  
“We can’t leave him,” Zac shook his head insistently, “not for a moment. Ike, I don’t trust _anyone_.”  
“Yeah, I’m getting that,” Isaac looked over his shoulder to where the two or three soldiers had disappeared.  
He hadn’t been paying much attention. He wouldn’t even be able to pick the guy out of a line up.  
“Reculez,” the nurse tapped Isaac on the chest, making him stand back a little.  
“Sorry,” he apologised, moving around the bed to stand with Zac instead.  
Zac was carefully watching every move the nurse made.  
“We just need to hold out for a couple of hours, until the army get here,” Isaac put a hand on his shoulder, “as long as we stay awake and alert, we should be good.”  
“Sleep is the last thing on my mind,” Zac said incredulously, “you would not believe the afternoon I’ve had.”  
“Oh I’m sure I would,” Isaac considered, “do you want to talk about it?”  
He wasn’t honestly sure if he were ready to know, but Zac was obviously on edge and he figured getting it out might have helped.  
Zac just shook his head.  
“He said his goodbyes, Ike,” Zac couldn’t even look in his direction, just keeping his eyes on the nurse as she replaced the tubing and set the transfusion going again.  
Isaac took a deep breath in response.  
“He said he told you he was ready to go,” Zac frowned suddenly, “why would he say that?”  
“He did,” Isaac confirmed, “it was after a torture session with Nate, and he’d lost a lot of blood then. He said he was ready to give up. I promised I wouldn’t let him die at thirty.”  
A lump had formed in Isaac’s throat, and he suddenly had to back away. He stood to the side looking away from Taylor as he tried to compose himself.  
Zac reached over and gave his shoulder a squeeze, not willing to take his eyes from Taylor for anything just yet.  
“He’s alive,” he reassured him, “we just need to keep him that way.”  
Isaac could only nod in reply. A few minutes went past before Dupont brushed the curtain aside.  
“Are you boys alright?” he asked, looking unsure if he’d asked it right.  
“No,” Zac scorned.  
“Tell us you caught him,” Isaac gave him a pleading look.  
“We did,” Dupont nodded, “he is in custody.”  
“So if you caught him, why couldn’t you catch Nate?” Zac’s mood had evidently darkened.  
“It sounds like Nate was long gone by the time we got here,” Isaac amended for him, “he knew what he was doing. As usual.”  
“Did you know Nate was recruited?”  
Isaac blanched. He looked down at Taylor before rubbing his chin awkwardly.  
“No,” he admitted, “I didn’t. I mean I had my suspicions, but it was never confirmed.”  
“Well, he was. And he had his own master. It was Ryan,” Zac dropped the bombshell, “yet he managed to distract the guy long enough that Tay could put a bullet in him.”


	132. 132

Zac’s eyes were getting heavy by the time they heard a commotion in the ward around midnight and Dupont pulled the curtain aside again.  
“They’re here,” he announced.  
Zac looked up from where he sat at Taylor’s bedside as Isaac stepped out for a moment. He heard Isaac greet someone in surprise before the curtain moved aside again.  
“Devon?!” Zac’s eyes lit up.  
He immediately stood to shake the soldier’s hand.  
“Sorry we took so long,” Devon apologised, “we should have escorted you to Paris but we had to wait for clearance to get over here ourselves.”  
“Can’t say I’m happy with that,” Zac looked back at Taylor.  
“We got debriefed on the way in,” Devon nodded, eyeing him himself, “sorry we couldn’t stop this.”  
“He’s gonna be okay,” Zac insisted.  
“I know,” Devon nodded.  
“So what happened to you guys?” Zac frowned, “I saw Haddon get shot. After that, nothing.”  
“They took us by surprise,” Devon shrugged, “the FBI lost about five agents. Guess I was the lucky one because it was Haddon’s shift. He’s in a coma at St Anthony’s by the way.”  
“A coma?” Zac’s eyebrows rose, “I thought… wasn’t he shot in the head?”  
“Neck, actually,” Devon offered, “fortunately the bullet missed any arteries. He’s expected to make a full recovery if he wakes up.”  
Zac paused, taking note of the ‘if’.  
“Been chasing you guys practically ever since. Almost caught up with Isaac a few times,” Devon gave him a pointed look.  
“Sorry about that,” Isaac scratched his head, “I’ll go ahead and assume I’ll be asked about that later.”  
Devon nodded.  
“We almost caught up with you in both Tulsa and Lincoln. Traffic cams followed you through to Chadron, and suddenly we get a call from Denver International. Can’t say we weren’t confused at that point.”  
“Us too,” Zac pulled a face, “we still kind’ve are.”  
“Nate was kinda the driving force at that point,” Isaac admitted, “he knew where Seth’s base was, and then he came up with the idea to come to Paris. I guess now we know why…”  
“Yeah, he wanted to come back to his master,” Zac scowled.  
Devon looked between the two of them for a moment.  
“I can see there’s a lot we need to catch up on,” he realised, “but first things first. We need to get you back to the US.”  
“How?” Isaac frowned, giving Taylor another glance.  
“We have fighter jets waiting to escort a commercial airliner,” Devon revealed, making both Hansons raise their brows, “the orders are to get you off the ground as soon as possible.”  
“What about Tay?” Zac frowned.  
“That’s where the ‘as soon as possible’ comes in, as opposed to ‘immediately’,” Devon mused, “until then we’re using all available manpower to put a wall around the hospital. I have no doubts that Paris will hold a few surprises for us yet.”  
“Seth’s here,” Zac spoke up, “he followed us. Or, he followed Tay.”  
“He implanted him with a tracer,” Isaac indicated Taylor’s arm, “and put a kill order on him.”


	133. 133

“This changes things,” Devon pulled his radio, “excuse me.”  
He stepped out and closed the curtain behind him. They could hear him radioing in to announce Seth’s presence.  
“How could they not notice Seth either leaving the US or entering France?” Zac frowned.  
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the Creeds were regular travellers, if his brother was based here,” Isaac shrugged.  
“But how?”  
“I don’t know.”  
Devon reappeared a moment later with Dupont and Taylor’s attending nurse in tow.  
“Do you know where the tracer is?” he asked Isaac.  
“His arm,” both brothers pointed to it, Zac indicating the stitching as Isaac stood back a little.  
“Explain to her what it is. Ask if it can be removed,” Devon spoke to Dupont.  
He relayed the question in French. The nurse first looked confused, and then worried. When she replied Devon looked to Dupont expectantly.  
“His arm will need to be scanned, so they can see where exactly it is,” he relayed, “that can’t be done during the transfusion.”  
“Okay. Let’s not panic just yet,” Devon was now talking to all of them, “Seth would already know he was here-“  
“Evidently, someone’s already tried to kill him,” Zac cut in.  
“-yes,” Devon relented, “so there’s no real urgency to get it out. I say we wait until we’re back on home soil.”  
“As long as he doesn’t decide to shoot us out of the sky,” Isaac looked worried.  
Zac’s eyes darted for a moment before he spoke up.  
“As long as I’m there he won’t,” he looked between them, “Seth needs me alive. Ryan knew it.”  
“You’re willing to bet everyone’s lives on it?” Isaac looked surprised.  
“Yes,” Zac replied without falter, “I was there when Ryan announced Seth’s kill order. He had one on me too, but he had to recount it. Fowler sounds desperate to get me back, and even Nate said something about how he’s not someone to mess with.”  
“Fowler?” Devon narrowed an eye.  
“The guy from Alaska, he wants me back,” Zac confirmed, “that’s why Seth had to come back for me.”  
“Protocol is something these guys adhere to pretty strictly,” Devon confirmed, “and an irate customer who knows the inner workings of their business is the last thing they want.”  
“Great,” Zac insisted, “so let’s piss him off more by keeping me out of his hands.”  
“Do we have an approximate time for Taylor to wake?” Devon looked between Dupont and the nurse.  
The nurse stopped to think about the translation before answering herself.  
“Two hours. Deux heures?”  
“We can work with that,” Devon nodded, “are you boys alright here?”  
“I’m not leaving him,” Zac shook his head, once again taking a seat.  
“Yeah me either,” Isaac agreed.  
“Wasn’t suggesting you should,” Devon shrugged, “if you need anything just call out.”  
The Hansons nodded as the three intruders made their way outside.


	134. 134

It was just over two hours later that the nurse began reducing the sedatives going into Taylor. Both Isaac and Zac had their attention focused the entire time, glad that both nations’ armies were watching their backs so they didn’t have to.  
The early hours of the morning came before his facial expression changed. Zac hit Isaac on the arm as they watched their brother finally come to.  
“Tay?” Zac took hold of his hand tentatively.  
Taylor groaned in response, but Zac couldn’t help smiling when he felt his brother squeeze his hand.  
Isaac stepped around to the other side of the bed as Taylor managed to force his eyes open. No sooner had he done that did he roll onto his side and throw up onto the floor.  
“Tay?!” Isaac exclaimed, managing to dodge the mess but leaning a supportive hand on his shoulder in the process.  
Taylor groaned louder as a nurse appeared and began to clean up. He stayed on his side until he felt his stomach settle, before falling back onto the pillow again. It took him a moment to register who was with him.  
“Ike?” he frowned a little.  
“Yeah,” he confirmed, taking hold of his other hand.  
Taylor turned to see Zac on his other side. He smiled a little before closing his eyes again.  
“You’re safe, Tay,” Zac assured, “the army’s here.”  
“The army?” Taylor frowned, still not really registering anything other than being awake and with his brothers.  
“Yeah, Devon’s here,” Zac added, “they’re going to take us home.”  
“Home,” Taylor repeated, the word resonating with him.  
“That’s right Tay, home,” Zac repeated for him as Isaac felt tears pricking at his eyes.  
He stubbornly wiped them away before shifting slightly for the nurse, refusing to relinquish his hold on Taylor’s hand. The nurse disconnected Taylor’s IV line and moved the equipment away.  
“I know you’re tired,” Zac began again, “but we really need you to wake up.”  
“The sooner you wake up, the sooner we get home,” Isaac added, finding his voice.  
Taylor concentrated on taking deep breaths. He couldn’t wake up any faster just because they wanted him to, but he could feel the mobility slowly returning to his arms and legs. Finally after a few minutes his eyes began to stay open without being forced.  
“You said Devon’s here?” he suddenly frowned, looking toward Zac.  
“Yeah he is,” Zac confirmed, “Andrews sent a team over to take us home.”  
Taylor took a moment for that to register. The frown didn’t leave his face.  
“We can’t go home,” he said in a scratchy voice, his throat dry from the oxygen they’d used.  
“What do you mean?” Isaac gave his hand a squeeze.  
Taylor made to sit up but ended up having to groan and lay down again. Fighting against his brother’s hand, he lifted his left arm to see the black stitching still there.  
“This,” he looked to Zac tiredly, “we can’t go home. It’s too dangerous.”  
“Well I doubt he means _home_ home,” Zac looked to Isaac, “but it’s okay. We have the US _and_ the French army watching out for us. Seth’s not going to set foot in here if he knows what’s good for him.”  
Taylor’s expression barely changed, but they could see he didn’t believe it.  
“Let us know when you feel like trying to move,” Zac changed the subject.


	135. 135

It was an hour or so later before Taylor managed to sit up in bed. Devon was present as they tried to help him stand, but he still couldn’t put much weight on his feet. His body had been exhausted.  
“Can we get a wheelchair or something?” Zac looked between Devon and a nurse, “if we can at least move him we can go, right?”  
“If he gets the all clear,” Devon nodded his agreement.  
He pulled the nurse aside with Dupont as Taylor put his head in his hand, trying to control a dizzy spell.  
“You okay?” Isaac checked.  
“Yeah,” Taylor assured, “I will be.”  
Barely seconds later, Devon returned with a chair.  
“Let’s go!” he announced, “we’ll head out back, away from the media.”  
“The media’s here already?” Isaac looked worried.  
“Well we have been here almost twelve hours,” Zac reasoned, grabbing Taylor’s right arm as he’d done with Nate.  
After counting down and giving fair warning, he helped his brother into the wheelchair. Taylor collapsed into it before wrapping one arm around his stomach as he continued feeling sick.  
“What’s the plan?” he strained to look up at Devon.  
“Back door,” Devon repeated, “armoured vehicle with police escort to the airport. We’ve commissioned a commercial airliner, which will be escorted back to the States as soon as we get there.”  
“Sounds good to me,” Zac insisted.  
“And me,” Isaac agreed.  
Taylor gave Isaac a wary glance before suddenly grabbing onto the chair with his free hand as Zac took hold and began to push forward.  
“Lead the way,” he instructed Devon.  
Devon stepped out and was immediately flanked by two other soldiers, including Dupont. Isaac stood to the side as Zac wheeled Taylor out before following him. They began making their way through the ward escorted by Taylor’s nurse – away from the entrance and further into the hospital. As Taylor watched where they were going, he frowned.  
“Wait,” he put a hand up suddenly.  
“We really can’t,” Zac insisted, slowing regardless, “what is it?”  
“Something’s happened,” Taylor realised, looking around at the other patients in the ward.  
He could see about six people, five of which were bleeding from the abdomen.   
“What do you mean?” Isaac asked, looking around curiously and trying to spot what he had.  
“These people have all been stabbed,” Taylor looked up at him worriedly.  
“Il ya un fou dans la ville des gens poignardé dans la rue,” the nurse muttered under her breath.  
“What did she say?” Taylor looked to Dupont.  
“There’s a madman in the city stabbing people,” Dupont shrugged, “we need to continue.”  
“Zac?” Taylor looked over his shoulder but couldn’t turn enough to see him, “you got that soldier with the scalpel, right?”  
Zac pulled the wheelchair to a halt. Everyone stopped with him.  
“You think this is a cover?” he asked worriedly.  
“I wouldn’t rule anything out,” Taylor insisted, “and from where I stood you got him pretty good.”


	136. 136

“Seth’s going to know we’re on the move,” Isaac looked between Zac and Devon.  
“Seth wasn’t there at the time,” Zac’s eyes were darting thoughtfully, “only Ryan’s cronies would know what happened. And maybe Nate, but I don’t see why he would-“  
“Where is Nate?” Taylor looked up.  
When Isaac shrugged in reply, Taylor’s brow furrowed worriedly.  
“Um…” Zac continued awkwardly, “basically what happened… when they were trying to do what they did to Tay, I managed to stab one of the soldiers. With a scalpel.”  
His eyes were on Dupont.  
“This could be either a way of getting our attention, or a cover so he can get medical attention without being caught.”  
“I’d order background checks on anyone coming in wounded,” Devon said to Dupont, “if anyone comes up as military or ex-military, temporarily detain them. We’ll keep a man or two on the ground if you need.”  
“We can handle it,” Dupont assured, giving the shorter soldier a condescending look.  
He turned his back for a moment and radioed in the suspicions in French.  
“We need to keep moving,” Devon insisted, signalling for Zac to carry on.  
They made it through into a main foyer area, not stopping for anything. From there the nurse led them through another separate medical centre and to one of the building’s many fire escapes.  
When they hit the door to the outside, they saw the armoured vehicle waiting for them in an alley.  
“Keep your eyes open,” Devon announced to the soldiers standing by – their guns at the ready.  
They kept their eyes both on the street and on the rooftops as Devon and one of the French guards worked to carefully load Taylor into the back. Once he was up and seated, Zac and Isaac joined him. They immediately felt a lot safer inside the bulletproof vehicle, but knew they couldn’t stay there forever.  
Only the American soldiers joined them, one remaining on the outside to cover them as they left. There were only small windows in the back, and Zac was the only one who bothered looking through them. He caught a brief glimpse of the media at the hospital’s front as they cut across the main street.  
Isaac kept his eye on Taylor, watching as he swayed slightly.  
“Tay, you okay?” he asked again.  
Taylor just nodded, still feeling sick to the stomach.  
“Anyone got water?” he asked.  
One of the soldiers came up with a bottle and handed it over. Taylor only took a small sip, just enough to wet his throat and to prove to himself that he could keep it down.  
“How far is it?” Zac asked.  
“About a half hour drive,” Devon looked to a comrade for confirmation who nodded.  
“Seth’s going to realise where we’re going,” Taylor was watching him.  
“We’re now aware of that,” Devon confirmed with a nod, “unfortunately the nurses couldn’t remove your beacon without taking the time to do scans and prep for surgery. We’ll try and get it sorted at the Pentagon.”  
“Oh the Pentagon,” Zac sighed and leant back, “close enough to home anyway.”  
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to set foot in Tulsa again, at least until we can sort out this tracing issue,” Devon insisted, “or – if we get lucky – Creed is detained re-entering the country.”


	137. 137

By the time they arrived at a rear section of the airport, Taylor had regained enough strength to walk. Albeit slowly.   
The truck entered an old hangar where a moderate sized American Airlines jet sat waiting. The soldiers exited first, waiting to help Taylor down if need be.  
“Why the shed?” Zac looked around apprehensively.  
“Less chance of a sniper getting eyes on us,” Devon replied without thinking.  
Zac and Taylor shared a panicked glance before they picked up their pace a little. The main doors of the hangar were slowly opening, and Taylor kept his eye on them in case anyone appeared through.  
When they made it up onto the plane the soldiers took a walkthrough to make sure the plane was secure before indicating for the Hansons to choose whichever seats they wanted. They all opted for aisle seats close to the front where they’d be closer to Devon and their escorts.  
“Anyone got a shirt?” Taylor asked, still hugging the water bottle to his chest.  
“We’ll have a look when we get in the air,” Devon offered as the doors were closed behind the pilot and co-pilot.   
The soldier who’d tagged alongside him from the hospital gave him a look, before setting his rifle down on one of the seats. He removed his army vest and camouflage jacket before handing the jacket over.  
“Thanks,” Taylor looked up curiously as the soldier replaced his vest and picked up the gun.  
“No problem,” he nodded before returning to his post by the door.  
Taylor sat forward a little to put the jacket on before managing to reach up and turn the overhead fan off. Both Isaac and Zac watched on until he settled back and put his seatbelt on.  
They could hear the calls of ‘all clear!’ before the plane engines started. The soldiers kept away from the windows as the plane taxied onto the runway, and once they were given a fast clearance by air control they were on their way to the sky.

*

The flight was largely uneventful. Once they were over the ocean Isaac and Zac opted to take turns keeping watch while the other – and Taylor – got some sleep. It would be the first real sleep Taylor had had since the whole ordeal started.  
He awoke only an hour or so before landing, having gotten in a full eight hours or so. When he looked around he found Isaac on watch.  
“Hey,” he smiled blandly, rubbing at his eyes.  
“Hey,” Isaac returned.  
He waited a moment before standing from his seat and moving over to sit in front of Taylor.  
“Feel any better yet?” he asked.  
“Yeah,” Taylor nodded, “I guess I do.”  
“Do you remember everything?” Isaac asked curiously.  
Taylor paused, but nodded.  
“Tay I’m so sorry,” Isaac shook his head.  
“You have no reason to be,” Taylor frowned.  
“I made you a promise,” Isaac insisted, “and I wasn’t there to carry through on it.”  
“There’s nothing you could have done,” Taylor’s eyes narrowed, “seriously. Don’t beat yourself up over it. I’m okay. That’s all that matters, right?”  
Isaac stared him down for a moment, but turned away defeated.


	138. 138

The plane landed at Washington Dulles International Airport on schedule. From there it was another half hour ride back to the Pentagon. They were greeted inside by some more familiar faces.  
“Hey guys, it’s been a while,” Private Monroe grinned as they got out of the vehicle, leaning forward to shake Isaac’s hand.  
“Sorry to see you back here, but good to see you nonetheless,” Dekker nodded, opting to leave his hand on his gun.  
“You missed us,” Zac teased, taking Taylor’s arm to help him down.  
“I know Monroe has, he’s been on rug rat duty,” Dekker assured.  
Monroe smirked at the confused looks as Devon jumped out behind them.  
“I met Monroe,” he winked at Isaac.  
“Oh…” Isaac realised, before turning to his brothers with a grin, “they’re here.”  
“Where?” Taylor’s eyes were instantly wide.  
“We’ll take you through a debriefing-“  
“You mean interrogation,” Zac cut in.  
“-call it what you will, and then you can see them. They’re all set up in the old living quarters,” Dekker assured.  
“Guys…” Taylor pulled his brothers back before they could get moving, looking between them pleadingly, “don’t tell Nat what happened, okay?”  
“What, that you died?” Zac almost scorned, “that’s not really our place to begin with.”  
“I just don’t want it to slip out, is all,” Taylor’s face flushed a little.  
“Pretty sure we’ll be very conscious of it if it ever comes up,” Isaac reassured, “you’ve got nothing to worry about from us.”  
Taylor just nodded as they were led through into the now very familiar space. They received a few nods from workers they recognised.  
Once they came to the old interrogation rooms – where Isaac and Taylor had been taken on their first stay – they were separated for their interviews. Zac gave Taylor a worried glance as they parted, still not entirely confident with leaving him on his own.  
Both of them were surprised when they returned to the foyer and Isaac hadn’t finished yet.  
“That’s a first,” Zac muttered as they both took a seat in the corridor to wait.  
“Must be about Nate,” Taylor suggested.  
“Ooh,” Zac pulled a face, “that’s going to be fun.”  
“Did he seriously just disappear in the middle of Paris?” Taylor looked across with a frown, “is that why he took us there? Was it his backup plan?”  
“I don’t think so,” Zac rubbed his neck awkwardly, “um. What do you remember from Creed’s?”  
“After I passed out?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose in thought, “I remember waking up and seeing him pointing a gun at you. And I remember picking up a black gun and shooting him. That’s about it.”  
Zac nodded, waiting until someone coming down the corridor had passed them before going on.  
“Ryan was Nate’s master,” he came out with, making Taylor’s eyes shoot across to him.  
“He went back to his master?” he looked incredulous.  
“I don’t know, I think he might have tried to,” Zac looked confused, “but at the same time he purposely bought us time… he wanted one of us to kill Creed.”  
Taylor paused for thought. He idly wondered if he’d been conforming to Nate without even thinking about it.


	139. 139

“So do you remember anything?” Zac asked after a moment of silence, “I mean… from when it happened?”  
“You mean when I died?” Taylor clarified.  
“…Yeah. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to, I was just wondering about the whole… ‘white light’ thing.”  
Taylor smirked and rubbed his face tiredly.  
“I saw Gran,” he admitted.  
“You’re kidding,” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
Taylor shook his head, then waited as someone else walked past.  
“What happened?” Zac demanded, “did she say anything? Like, did it feel like a dream or do you think…?”  
“She seemed angry with me actually,” Taylor looked slightly confused, “she told me the fight wasn’t over. And this was about more than me.”  
“Don’t blame her,” Zac shrugged, “could have beat the crap out of you myself for giving up like that.”  
Taylor gave him a scornful look.  
“I fought. I fought _hard_ ,” he insisted, “and I can still feel the bump on my head to prove it. But you of all people would know there was no way out, and we know for a fact that if Nate hadn’t have shown up when he did I would be well and truly gone.”  
Zac turned away, resisting the urge to argue.  
“And there’s nothing wrong with not wanting to be afraid at the end,” Taylor defended.  
“All I could think about was having to come home and tell Nat that you gave up,” Zac shook his head, “and you’d already told Ike that you were ready to die? Are you kidding me?”  
It was Taylor’s turn to look away. He didn’t have an answer for that.  
“I just wanted it to end,” he shook his head, “one way or another. It was a way out.”  
“Well it’s not the only way,” Zac absently rubbed his chest, “and we are going to find these assholes and make them pay.”  
Taylor was about to say they couldn’t do anything of the sort and that it was now the army’s problem, but he rolled his eyes and put his head in his hands instead.  
“I just want to go home,” he pined.  
Zac hesitated, then smirked. Taylor took a moment to register it, then gave him an odd look.  
“What?” he asked.  
“Your house,” Zac looked a bit sheepish, “there’s something you should probably know about it…”  
Taylor sat up straight, holding the wound in his side as he did so.  
“What about my house?” his game face was now on.  
Zac scratched his head, wishing Isaac would suddenly appear and save him from the moment.  
“It’s kind of… not good?” he wasn’t sure how to say it, “Seth’s guys came for me there. Before we evacuated to the FBI headquarters in OKC. They didn’t exactly leave it in one piece.”  
Taylor groaned and closed his eyes.  
“How bad?” he asked with a gulp.  
“I’m sure it won’t take much to clean up… the blood. The bullet holes in the walls. Oh, and both our cars sitting burnt out in the driveway.”  
“Another one for you, huh?” Taylor raised an eyebrow.  
“Think they’re trying to tell me something?” Zac smirked again.


	140. 140

It wasn’t too long before Isaac finally emerged. His interviewer didn’t look happy.  
Zac stood to greet him as Taylor watched after the agent.  
“Well you’re not in cuffs, so that’s a good thing,” Zac broke the awkward moment.  
“Pretty sure they considered it,” Isaac scratched his head, wincing a little.  
“Ouch.”  
“Because of Nate?” Taylor asked from where he still sat.  
Isaac nodded.  
“Yeah. They’re currently working out if what I did would be considered ‘aiding and abetting a known fugitive’ because I didn’t turn him in.”  
“And… why didn’t you?” Zac asked curiously.  
“Because he knew where the Chadron base was,” Isaac shrugged, “and I knew if the army caught him he probably wouldn’t tell them where it was. He blackmailed me into taking him there.”  
“What was in it for him?” Zac looked confused.  
“Aside from…” Isaac trailed off, looking down at Taylor.  
Taylor just frowned.  
“Well he wasn’t doing well. Seth shot him – thought he’d killed him, in fact – and I had to get him to hospital. I ended up dropping him off in Lincoln before going back to Tulsa to get our passports.”  
“So you went to my house,” Taylor realised.  
“Yes…?” Isaac’s eyes narrowed.  
“I told him what it looks like,” Zac informed him.  
“Guess I don’t even have a home to go to if we ever leave here,” Taylor pulled a face.  
“They have to let us out eventually,” Isaac tried to reassure him.  
“Because that worked so well last time,” Taylor smirked, “but don’t get me wrong. If Nat and the kids are here, this might as well be home.”  
Zac and Isaac shared an amused look as Devon appeared at the end of the corridor.  
“Hey!” Zac called out in greeting as he walked up.  
“How’d it go?” he asked, looking between them all.  
“As well as could be expected,” Isaac offered, Taylor giving Devon a nod when he looked down to check with him.  
“Okay well, the infirmary awaits,” Devon indicated over his shoulder, “they’re ready to do the scans on your arm.”  
“Already?” Taylor looked surprised as he pulled himself to his feet.  
“Better out than in, isn’t it?” Devon pointed out.  
“Can’t argue with that,” Isaac gave his brother a pat on the shoulder.  
“You guys can go ahead and see your families while I take him if you want,” Devon offered.  
“Do you want us to come with?” Zac offered.  
“You don’t really need to,” Taylor insisted, knowing they were just as eager to see their families as he was to see his, “just a quick in and out, right? No surgery yet?”  
“They’ll need to have someone go over the scans first, so you won’t be taken in straight away,” Devon confirmed.  
“Great,” Isaac’s eyes lit up, “so where do we go?”  
“I’ll lead you part of the way. Monroe’s waiting down there,” Devon began walking and the Hansons began following, “they’re not far away at all.”


	141. 141

Taylor waited nervously as the on duty radiologist readied her equipment.  
“You’ve had x-rays before?” she asked, sensing the tension and trying to break it.  
“Yeah,” he replied with a nod, “broke my arm when I was little.”  
“Ouch. How did you do that?”  
“Came off my bike,” Taylor admitted.  
The woman lay down a sheet before positioning his arm where she needed it. She took a moment to look the stitching over before setting it sideways a little.  
“Let me know if it hurts and we’ll pause for a bit, okay?” she offered.  
“Sure,” he nodded, holding his arm still, “but I think it’s mostly healed over now.”  
She headed back over to the machine, quickly fussing about so that he wouldn’t have to hold the position for too long. From behind a barrier she took a few quick photos, and then came to twist his arm slightly on a diagonal before repeating the process.  
The position was moved once more, and then he was done. He was just rolling the sleeve of the soldier’s jacket down when they heard a commotion from the hallway.  
Looking worried for a moment, Taylor calmed slightly when he could hear Devon just outside the door arguing with someone. The radiologist went about her business after signalling that he could leave, and he pulled himself to his feet to head for the door.  
When he pulled it open he saw that Devon was arguing with Natalie.  
“I don’t care! I want to see my hus-“  
She cut off as she noticed Devon’s eye line looking over her shoulder, and suddenly turned. Taylor was left lost for words, so he just pulled her into a tight hug. Behind her Devon gave him a nod and backed off a little.  
“Tay what happened?” she asked without letting him go, her voice cracking a little.  
“A lot,” Taylor replied, gulping slightly as he worked to keep himself together, “we need to talk.”  
She pulled away at that, giving him a curious look.  
“Nothing bad,” he assured, “well… not anymore. I think.”  
He took her by the hand and began to lead the way back down toward the living quarters. When Devon saw they were moving he led the way while managing to keeping his distance.  
Taylor didn’t know where to begin. Did he start by telling her that he died? Or that he was forced to practically cheat on her?  
They soon came to another bench seat and he pulled her down into a sit. He winced a little at the pull still fresh in his hip, but the oversized jacket now hid most of his injuries.  
“What happened?” Natalie repeated, searching his eyes.  
“I died,” Taylor came out with, unsure of how else to say it.  
“You… what?”  
“You know Seth? Connor’s brother?” Taylor began to explain with some trouble, “well he put a kill order on me. And when we went to France the other day, their older brother found us. He had someone drain the blood from my body until my heart stopped.”  
Natalie looked as if she didn’t want to believe him. Considering their surroundings it was hard not to, but still… could such a thing really happen?  
“But I’m okay, obviously,” Taylor insisted, “I was saved in time.”  
“So what happened to Seth? Or his brother?” Natalie tried to brush over it for the moment.  
“I killed him. Ryan, that is,” Taylor admitted softly, “and Nat? …I killed someone else too.”


	142. 142

The two spent a long time just sitting and talking, with Devon waiting patiently just out of ear shot. Taylor recounted anything he could think of to tell her, because once the waterworks had started he knew there was no going back anyhow.   
When he couldn’t think of anything else to add she simply embraced him for a long moment of emotional silence.  
They’d been there for a good ten minutes or so before Natalie gave him a pat on the shoulder. He looked up to see someone in a suit talking to Devon, both their eyes on the sitting duo.  
Devon waited until he saw that he had their attention before nodding to the man and making his way over.  
“They’ve had a look at the scans,” he informed them, “I can take you to the doctor for the rundown now if you want.”  
With a glance back to check with Natalie first, Taylor nodded and stood while pulling her up by the hand. They followed Devon back down toward the interrogation rooms and entered the one Zac had been in to find a doctor waiting with the scans already displayed on the large wall screen.  
Taylor gulped a little as he saw the small device clear as day on the x-ray. Natalie looked on curiously as Devon closed the door behind them, and the doctor indicated for them to both take a seat.  
“It’s not good news I’m afraid,” he began, his eyes on Taylor, “but we do have options.”  
“Options?” Taylor frowned, “what do you mean, options? We just want the thing out and destroyed.”  
“It’s not going to be that easy I’m afraid, considering where the device is situated,” the doctor explained calmly.  
Natalie reached over and took Taylor’s hand again for support. Taylor took a deep breath as he waited for the doctor to make his way over to the screen and explain the situation using visual guides.  
“They appear to have situated the device very precisely between the corpi radialis and palmarus longus, or two of the three main muscles of your forearm,” he pointed out the grey tissue area in the scans on screen, “to set it in between the radius, or the bone. As it’s already been a week or so, in order to remove it we would need to cut through that muscle tissue to where it’s been embedded.”  
“Wouldn’t they have done that to put it there?” Natalie frowned.  
“Not necessarily,” the doctor reasoned, “the implant has managed to conceal itself among the healing tissue, which wasn’t present beforehand because there was no injury to heal.”  
“But if you have to cut into the muscle...” Taylor already clicked, “what damage is that going to do?”  
“Mostly some numbness, but also loss of motor function.”  
Taylor felt his blood run cold at the confirmation. He dropped Natalie’s hand and stood from the chair.  
“Tay?” she followed suit, standing from her own.  
He paced the room a little as he tried to get his head around it, then suddenly stopped and turned around. He was wringing his hands nervously.  
“Meaning I couldn’t play piano,” he said straight out.  
“I don’t doubt that eventually – with a lot of physical rehabilitation – you could get that function back,” the doctor offered, “but not at first, no.”  
“How long would that take? At a guess,” Taylor asked.  
“Years,” the doctor replied sullenly.


	143. 143

“Son of a bitch,” Zac cursed under his breath.  
“So… if you get the tracer removed, you can’t play piano,” Isaac repeated for confirmation, “and if you leave it in, Seth’s always going to know where you are.”  
“I don’t know,” Zac shook his head, “I think removing it would be the better option. Chances are you’ll get that movement back, and being injured for a few years as opposed to being dead? Big difference there.”  
“But then what if Seth’s caught in the first week?” Taylor looked between them, “I will have potentially lost _everything_ for _nothing_.”  
“Have they thought about using it to draw Seth out?” Isaac asked curiously.  
“What?” Taylor scorned, “you mean using me as bait?”  
Isaac shrugged.  
“Since when would he go on recon himself anyway?” Taylor pointed out.  
“Well you did kill his brother,” Zac reasoned, “bullet between the eyes. Remember that?”  
“Yeah I do,” Taylor looked awkward, “I was aiming for his heart.”  
Zac opened his mouth to say something to that but stopped himself. The outcome had been the same in the end.  
“I don’t know, I’m just trying to think of ways to make this officially over,” Isaac scratched his head, “because even if they do decide to let us out of the Pentagon again, unless Seth’s been caught we’re always going to be watching over our shoulders.”  
“And Nate,” Taylor added.  
“And Fowler,” Zac added, giving Taylor a glance, “not to mention anyone else who might decide to take over the company if the heads are suddenly cut off.”  
“The Butcher,” Taylor added.  
“Oh Nate shot him,” Zac informed him, “I don’t know what damage he did because he managed to walk out, but he wasn’t looking good.”  
Taylor stared him down for a moment as if to decipher whether he were telling the truth.  
“The Butcher?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose, getting an uncomfortable look from both brothers.  
“He’s the one that…”  
“He’s the one Ryan employed to kill Tay,” Zac finished for him.  
“…Butcher?” Isaac repeated.  
“He was supposed to-“ Taylor cut off when Zac hit him on the arm.  
“You kinda had to be there,” Zac brushed over, “but anyway. Bottom line. As long as we’re here, we don’t really need to make a decision. Seth’s not going to try anything against the Pentagon.”  
“You mean I don’t,” Taylor ran his fingers through his hair.  
“What?”  
“Making a decision,” Taylor corrected, “you said ‘we’, but it’s my decision. It’s my arm.”  
“Fine. Whatever,” Zac was getting agitated, “point being that you don’t need to make up your mind today. Or tomorrow. We could be here for a while, and once you decide you’re comfortable with either idea… then go for it. But not before.”  
“Comfortable,” Taylor smirked as he folded his arms, “I finally get away from Seth and he’s still blackmailing me. He’s still controlling me.”  
“It can’t last forever,” Isaac tried to reason, “it’s going to blow over one way or another.”  
“Whatever,” Taylor sighed, “I need to find Private… Vance? And give him his jacket back.”


	144. 144

A few days later, Zac made his way into one of the interrogation rooms. The screen had been set up for him with a laptop on the desk acting as a webcam.  
Devon joined him, closing the door behind them.  
“Ready?” he asked, making his way to the laptop.  
“No time like the present,” Zac agreed.  
Devon set the video going, a small square showing the two of them on screen. They were greeted with snow on the larger segment for a minute or so, before the face of a very tired Haddon came on screen. Both Zac and Devon smiled.  
“Hey Haddon, how’s it going?” Devon greeted.  
“It’s going amazing,” Haddon’s voice dripped with sarcasm.  
“Are you on drugs?” Devon’s eyebrows rose, making Zac laugh.  
“Oh ha ha. If I wasn’t this would be a very different conversation.”  
“So how are you really?” Zac asked, taking note of the huskiness in the man’s voice.  
“Could be worse,” Haddon admitted, “I might not be here.”  
“Lucky you are,” Devon said seriously, “how long are you going to be stuck in OKC for?”  
“Don’t know yet,” Haddon cleared his throat, wincing a little as the pain reverberated through his neck, “how long’s it been… a couple of weeks? Maybe a couple more before they can transfer me to Chicago.”  
“Chicago?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“His hometown,” Devon offered, “how’s the hospital food?”  
“Oh we’ve got a comedian on our hands,” Haddon scorned, “they’ve been feeding me through a damn tube. No, it’s hilarious, really.”  
Both Zac and Devon smirked.  
“So what have I missed?” Haddon sniffed before rubbing his face, the screen temporarily blurring as he did, “what happened after I got shot?”  
“Seth’s cronies took me up to his base in Chadron and they went after Tay,” Zac folded his arms, “Nate had he and Ike in a cabin out near Marshall, where we’d tracked them to.”  
“How much has happened in a week?” Haddon frowned.  
“A lot,” Devon nodded with emphasis.  
“Long story short, Seth ended up with both me and Tay for a while. Ike was working with Nate to find us-“  
“Unbeknownst to us,” Devon cut in.  
“-and they kinda raided the place where we were. Then we went to Paris for a couple of days and Tay died-“  
“Whoa, whoa, wait,” Haddon interrupted, “slow down partner. Paris? Taylor died? What the?!”  
“I said long story short,” Zac pointed out, “so don’t make the short story a long story.”  
“Yeah we don’t have that much time,” Devon mused.  
Haddon rolled his eyes but waved him on.  
“We met Seth’s brother Ryan who was hiding out in Paris. Tay came back to life in time to kill him, then we managed to get him to a hospital before Nate disappeared. Then Devon showed up and brought us back to the States a few days ago. Oh, and Seth implanted Tay with a tracking device so that he’ll always know where he is, and if he gets it removed he loses the use of his arm.”  
“So you’re really missing the party,” Devon teased.


	145. 145

“Taylor?”  
He looked up from where he was sitting with River as Devon knocked on the open door.  
“Phone call,” Devon nodded.  
“Who is it?” Taylor frowned, wondering why they hadn’t just called his cell phone.  
“Didn’t say, but it’s been screened.”  
Taylor hesitated, but excused himself from the family and followed Devon to the nearest room with a conference phone. As he picked up the receiver Devon closed the door to give him some privacy.  
“Hello?” he asked.  
“Hello?”  
Taylor’s eyes narrowed for a moment, before it clicked and they suddenly widened.  
“Kadie?!” he kept the exclamation down, eyeing the door, “you’re alive?!”  
“Of course I’m alive,” Kadie sounded slightly offended, “we got out. But… a lot of people didn’t.”  
“Yeah, I heard,” Taylor put his free hand on his head in disbelief, “they didn’t think anyone made it.”  
“I think Seth knew that if you guys got away that the army would come soon after,” her voice seemed to waver a little, “he tried to move a few of us I guess he thought he’d need… my brother and I were just two of maybe five that got away in the rush.”  
“Kadie I’m sorry,” Taylor offered, “but I’m glad you two are okay. Listen… I really think you guys should come stay with us here in Washington. Where are you? I can send a team out to pick you up.”  
There was a moment of silence on the line as Taylor nervously waited for a response.  
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she finally replied.  
“Why not?” Taylor frowned incredulously, “Kadie, there’s nowhere safer than where we are. You need to let the army help you. You need to let _us_ help you.”  
“I just want to disappear.”  
Taylor took a deep breath before pulling a nearby chair toward him and sitting down.  
“I know the feeling. Believe me, I know,” he shook his head, “but trust me when I say that they will not let you. They’ve found everyone who’s ever escaped from them. They found them, and they killed them for it.”  
“Except for you.”  
Taylor had been about to go on, but he paused at that.  
“Not entirely true,” he amended, “they’ve both recaptured and killed me.”  
“What? But I thought-“  
“I don’t have a great track record,” Taylor admitted straight off, “seriously. These guys have taken us on so many times. And I knew what I was doing when I decided to take it public, I knew it was going to put us in more danger. I just didn’t realise how much.”  
There was a pause as she waited for him to go on.  
“And yeah, they succeeded in killing me. Seth’s older brother did, actually,” he rubbed his face as he explained, “I was very lucky that someone happened to be there that could revive me in time.”  
“Wow. I’m sorry,” she sounded sullen.  
“Don’t be,” Taylor insisted, “but Kadie, if you’re not calling for help… can I ask you why?”  
He heard her take in a deep breath as she struggled to think.  
“I don’t know,” she admitted, “I just… wanted to talk to you.”  
Taylor paused, then covered his mouth with his hand. He immediately thought of Ramirez.  
“I’ll be here as long as you need me,” he promised her.


End file.
